Hitsuzen
by Blue Quartz Foxy
Summary: Slightly AU: From Hyuuga heiress to honorary Uchiha, Hinata feels that she has to take care of her two adopted brothers. And unknown to our hapless heroine she is engaged to marry one brother while the other is starting to develop a crush on her.
1. Chapter 1

Hitsuzen

Notes: Eo! Um yes I know I shouldn't be writing yet another fic but this plot bunny sort of dug it's restless claws into me-unlike real bunnies plot bunnies do have claws- I am still not sure what direction this fic is heading, this is just a bit that I had to get out of my brain.

Disclaimers: I do not own Naruto! If I did Hinata would have received a heck of a lot more air time darn it!

Warning: A sort of AU-ish plot, major OOC-ness, since I can't keep Sasuke in character to save my life!

Rating: K+ (will go up in later chapters)

Prologue

From Heiress to Pauper

Small winces and whimpers came from the squirming heiress as a long mother-of-pearl comb ran through her short choppy raven locks. Pale ivory eyes, tainted with the most subtle hint of violet, watched the almost frenzied process as the maid tried to make up for lost time.

A girl about the age and height of the heiress was busy fiddling with the elaborate orange obi tie to the young miss's kimono, the maid kept tripping over the girl and scolding her for being in the way only to scold yet again when the girl didn't properly tie Hinata-sama's obi.

So much activity just because her and Father were going to the summer festival. Hinata frowned a little staring at her own reflection. The maid had placed long dangling hair pens of tinkling silver chains steaming from tiny lotus flowers crafted out of pearl. The pins held back Hinata's bangs, attention drawn to her pale and barren forehead.

Usually Hinata didn't pay much attention to such details, most five year olds wouldn't, but she had noticed that last year…or perhaps the year before, her elder cousin had took to wearing long white bandages around his forehead. Last year he stopped talking to her…

"There. That's the best we can do," the maid began, one hand on her hip, the other cupping her long chin thoughtfully before sighing, "I do so wish that Hyuuga-sama would reconsider and allow Hinata-sama to grow her hair out. She would look so pretty with long hair."

Hinata frowned. The girl almost wished that she had long hair too, just like her Mother. But Father forbade anything to look like, or remind him, of Mother nowadays since she passed away when Hinata was three.

Still Hinata thought that she looked 'pretty' enough. The hairpins looked nice and this was her favorite yukata of violet with small white blossoms decorating in a pattern like fashion and a big bright orange bow in the back.

What Hinata didn't like was the long sleeves that had been sewn on the garment somewhere between now and the last time she wore this festive garment.

The maid was whispering and tsk tsk-ing to herself about how Hinata-sama was far too young.

Another frown marred the girl's china doll like face.

Too young?

Too young for what, she wondered.

There was no time to worry about such trivial things; instead the girl's mind was easily distracted by figuring out ways to get her father to catch goldfish for her. Hinata could vaguely recall that she liked festivals because of the goldfish, the bright colorful lanterns, and the fireworks.

It was a bit difficult for her to recall though since she had only been three the last time she attended a festival, both tiny hands clasped in her Father and Mother's.

Tonight though, tonight her father was taking her out to enjoy the festival.

So the young miss obediently slipped her feet into unfamiliar zori sandals, it was rather hard to walk though since these were a bit taller than what she had been used to, something like high-heels that she had seen older women wearing.

Why were her sandals so different? So…ladylike and taller? Hinata didn't have time to think further on that matter since she was being herded out of the door, down the hall and to the front step where her father stood.

Arms crossed over his chest, hands hidden in the sleeves of his dull grayish attire Hyuuga-sama critically eyed his daughter. She had the slightest hints of makeup, tall zori sandals, and a child-sized furisode kimono.

By most standards the girl was too young to wear something that signified 'coming-of-age' but tonight she wouldn't be a child or at least not his 'child anymore.

Hinata smiled shyly and bowed at her waist, "D-does Father approve?"

Have I made you proud?

That always seemed to be the question with her.

Hiashi nodded curtly, "Hai," he said before walking over the threshold of the house. Hinata wanted to reach out and grasp his hand, just like she use to as a little girl; but she had been scolded on 'proper behavior' one too many times to know better.

Instead she stood upright, shoulders relaxed but not slouched, head held high, hands hidden inside her long sleeves as she gracefully walked…well she did stumbled once, but other than a blushing face no one was the wiser of that fact.

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He could hear other children laughing, screaming, and running up and down the narrow rows of booths at the festival. Moodily Sasuke had to sit inside the teahouse, watching small shadows of his cousins make tiny foot tracks as they raced excitedly to the next attraction, the newest shiny bobble, or gazing longingly at the tiny fishes swimming at the koi catching ponds.

And here he was…stuck inside while everyone was having fun outside.

"Elbows off the table," one his uncles scolded needlessly since Sasuke could have sworn that his elbows had been cleared of the table…okay so maybe they were teetering on the edge of the ebony-wood but that wasn't a crime.

Still one stern looked from his Father and the boy was sitting upright, hands and elbows off the table.

A small sly glance to his right and Sasuke could see his father sitting at the head of the table, mother to his left, and Itachi seated to his right with Sasuke sitting to the left of Itachi.

This…was so boring. And he didn't like this kimono the maid had wrapped him in. The black material was too thick and heavy for the summer weather, and the high collar was a bit itchy around his neck.

Said neck turned with the head as footsteps were heard. The soft melodious voice of the teahouse hostess spoke, her long graceful shadow cast over the rice paper of the shoji screen door.

"Right this way Hyuuga-sama," she said before a pale and well manicured hand slid open the door just as all onyx eyes 'casually' glanced in the direction of the door.

Once it opened fully there stood a tall stern looking man, thought wrinkles formed on his highbrow line dressed in a grayish-black yukata with the symbol of an orange-red flame embossed on the right sleeve.

More on Sasuke's eye level there was a small girl, who stared back at her audience of many with wide fearful eyes of pearl, just like the bejeweled flowers in her short dark hair. Curiously Sasuke tilted his head to one side as the Hyuuga father and daughter took their place at the opposite end of the table.

The girl had tried to sit in her father's lap, only to have the older man pick her up and place the girl down onto the floor pillow.

A look of hurt crossed openly over the girl's face, but then quickly schooled into one of understanding as she sat down properly, her gaze demurely lowered to the hands folded in her lap.

Sasuke was almost mad that no one had to remind 'her' of manners; but in the end he was too bored to care.

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Glances were exchanged between the patriarchs of the two most powerful clans in Konoha. Already the written agreement had been penned and sealed within a scroll which Hiashi pulled out before passing it to the attendant for the Uchiha clan.

Once it arrived in the hands of the Uchiha clan leader it was understood.

So the seal was broken, unfurled, and after a few minutes of overlooking the details before pulling out his own pen, and neatly scrawling a signature before rolling it back up with a curt nod.

Hiashi wordlessly stood up heading to the door. Not wishing to be left behind with these strange people with coal for eyes Hinata scrambled from her seat to accompany him, the sandals that were 'too big' for her feet making a clip-clop sound as she raced to accompany her father.

"No," he said simply, hand on the door.

The girl stopped, blinking wide pale eyes, unable to understand what was going on.

Hiashi took in a steadying breath.

"You are not my daughter anymore Hinata. You belong to the Uchiha clan now."

Stunned Hinata could only stand, stare, and watch as her 'father' opened the door leading out of the room and closing it with a soft 'snap' that sounded so much louder when it was echoing off the cavernous corners of her mind.

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Notes: Sorry if this fist chapter is a bit confusing; don't worry things will clear up later on. Anyway, if you like and want to read more please review kay?


	2. Chapter 2

Hitsuzen

Notes: Wow…thank you everyone for your awesome reviews! As promised, here is the second chapter of this runaway plot bunny. –lowers a carrot in hopes of 'luring' said plot bunny back to her other fics as well-

Warning: Expect OOC-ness, but as of yet nothing else.

Chapter One:

Firefly Lanterns

After being shooed away from the door and blindly lead back to the large rectangular table of the teahouse room Hinata bit her bottom lip, holding back burning salted tears.

Why did father just leave her like that, and among strangers as well?

Sniffling Hinata tried to turn her gaze anywhere; but the dark almost smoldering gazes of the Uchiha clan elders.

While Hinata's eyes were lowered, many of the elders shot barely disguised looks of distain to the head of their clan, minutes of silence was finally broken when one of the elders spoke up.

"Hyuuga child, lift your head. Don't bring disgrace upon us by causing a scene."

This caused Hinata to bite her lip tighter, forcing it to redden as a single tear trickled down the side of her face before the girl finally looked up, pale eyes still a bit watery.

Sasuke felt a small sting of regret in knowing that if the elders were going to scold the girl at least they were ignoring his lack of posture for the moment; however he wondered just what had occurred.

Looking to his father, the head of the clan didn't offer any answers, then Sasuke's gaze went to his brother; however, as of late Itachi seemed to be somewhat detached from everything, not just this meeting.

Moreover, when Sasuke looked to where his mother should be seated the boy was slightly surprised to find the space empty.

Hearing a slight noise that sounded like a cross between a whimper and a hiccup Sasuke's head turned back to the little girl, whom was now being held by his mother.

A soft hand smoothed over the little girl's covered shoulders, slightly hesitant before the fingers gained a firm resolve and gently touched on the elaborate hairstyle of the child bride.

"Shhh, it's going to be alright Hinata-chan. Please don't cry. You will be safe with us."

Frowning Sasuke turned his gaze away from the scene. It was inappropriate for a child to break down crying, and the look of disapproval on his father face proved to Sasuke that his mother was doing something 'wrong' as well.

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Weak golden rays of sunlight flittered through the window. Blinking and rubbing pale eyes Hinata suddenly glanced around the strange room frighteningly only to be stilled by a soothing hand.

Twisting her neck to see the other occupant of the room Hinata actually felt relieved to see the face of the woman who called herself Mikoto-san.

Dark eyes stared back at her, a small smile on the older woman's face, "Good morning."

The tears started to well up as Hinata begin to realize that last night had not been a dream.

A look of sympathy crossed the face of the woman with dark hair and even darker colored eyes. Small fingers started tenderly stroking back short strands of indigo hair in hopes of pacifying the tiny Hyuuga girl.

"We're going home today Hinata-chan. We've already received your clothes from your father's house," she paused to smile, "You have such pretty kimonos. Would you like to wear one of them today?" Mikoto asked softly hoping to soothe the little girl who was still near tears.

Hinata shook her head. She didn't want to go, even if Mikoto-san was very kind to her, the girl didn't want to leave home with these strangers.

Yet Hinata discovered that what she wished wasn't what mattered, for come noon, the small band of the Uchiha clan was walking out of the gates of Hinata's village.

A slight twist of the girl's head, glanced backward to the festival stalls that had last night been so alive with chatter, laughter, and people; but now looked hallowed out and empty. The colorful paper lanterns restlessly swayed from side to side the light inside of them long since extinguished.

The only hint of comfort that was offered was Mikoto-san's small and soft hand, the long fingers coiling tightly around Hinata's own smaller digits.

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Flanking his father and elder brother Sasuke couldn't help but look back occasionally at the strange girl who had started to become his mother's shadow. Sasuke honestly didn't know what to think about this.

Before leaving the teahouse last night the elders of the clan would bow to both father and…him, all of them 'congratulating' the young secondary heir of the household; this confused the boy, wasn't these the same uncles and grandfathers that had scolded him on his proper behavior earlier that night?

In addition, when they arrived at the inn the girl was following them like some clingy child phantom that had grown fearfully fond of his family.

'Shouldn't someone take her home?' Sasuke wondered, but didn't say that allowed, so far he was on everyone's good side for some reason; no sense spoiling it.

However, finding that the girl was not only spending the night at the inn as well but also going home with them…well it was very strange to say the least.

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It was a three-day journey to this 'new home'. Hinata's pale eyes stared up at the tall towering trees of the thick forest that seemed to encompass the entire band of travelers like large natural guards keeping watch of the village. The towering giant-trees were just one more reason for Hinata to wrap and wind her fingers into the soft hem of Mikoto-san's kimono.

The matriarch of the Uchiha clan had silently taken the little girl under her wing almost immediately; however, Mikoto knew that once the journey home was completed that coddling would have to cease.

The fact was that Hinata-chan had been sold to their clan; most likely, she would be induced as a maid for one of the clan elders. Still the woman couldn't help but grow attached. She did love her sons, but secretly Mikoto had also wanted a daughter, someone she could dress up, someone she could relate to if for no other reason than that they were both female.

She thoughtfully bit her lip, quickly squashing such a fantasy. Fugaku was a very proud man, so more than likely he wouldn't hear even slightest suggestion of taking the Hyuuga girl into their family fold.

Even if Hinata were to be 'adopted' by, one of the families that comprised the Uchiha clan it was blatantly obvious that she would be set apart if for no other reason than the fact that she was a Hyuuga.

Hinata-chan was going to have a difficult life ahead of her, so Mikoto wanted to be kind to the girl while there was still time; so despite the cluck of disapprove female tongues, or the patronizing stares of some of the men the young woman took Hinata in as her own…for now at least.

Dark eyes looked down as Mikoto felt insistent tugs given on her kimono sleeve. Staring up at her was the pale pupil less eyes of the Hyuuga. A cupid bow of a child's lip and an upturned nose spoke of fine breeding, but the shiver of shoulders hinted that the girl was unused to being the object of attention.

"Mikoto-san, w-where are we?" Hinata asked quietly, just starting to see the outlines of a gate and a large wall that blended in with the thick foliage and leaves of the forest.

Yet another small smile as Mikoto patiently unwound Hinata's fingers from her kimono fold and grasped the small hand in hers, "Konohagakure. Remember that name well; this will be your home from now on."

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Konohagakure…a village hidden among the leaves, well if the trees were any indication Hinata figured that the name 'fitted'. Sitting on the wooden porch Hinata could hear the faint floating whispers of the people inside the house. Already the girl was nervous and scared, only this time she didn't have Mikoto-san to lean on for comfort.

Restless feet swung back and forth with loud clanks as the bottom part of her zori sandals connected with the underside of the porch. However, Hinata slowed then stopped the motion of her feet when she noticed another sound.

Standing up Hinata cautiously walked the length of the porch, ears tuned to the noise of something striking against wood as the girl stepped closer to the sound.

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Delicately balance shuriken were held for the briefest of seconds before being launched into the air, slicing through, before embedding into the wooden practice posts with light 'thunks'.

Sasuke narrowed his dark eyes, so far, he had hit five out of ten targets, not bad really, but he knew that Itachi could do much better and faster too. So without hesitation Sasuke dug into the small weapons pouch and brought out ten shruiken, determined to hit all ten markers…

Just as the boy was about the toss the weapons, there was a small startled gasp before a shadow ducked behind one of the larger posts.

Dark eyes blinked before the boy carefully put the weapons back, before Sasuke turned to see Hinata hiding behind said training post.

Eyes of the darkest ebony and palest shade of white regarded each other curiously.

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"….the girl is far too young to even be considered for such an honor," one of the elders argued, "And why would we wish to mix our blood with those of the Hyuuga clan," he ended, lips curling in a sneer.

A few heads nodded in agreement. It was a well known fact that the Hyuuga clan was suffering from venomous strife taking place inside it's own walls.

Why would they want to bring such a 'cursed' child from a torn clan into their fold? Let alone pledge their own sons in future matrimony.

Mikoto watched and waited. So far, the state of Hinata-chan's presence wasn't perceived warmly.

It was true that the Hyuuga clan was breaking apart, but… ancient scroll or not there was no reason to place blame on the collapse of an entire clan on a small girl.

All this superstition surrounding the girl was utter nonsense; but apparently a good majority believed this nonsense in that not a single family was 'willing' to take Hinata even if to train her as a house keeper.

The stern leader of the clan stood up, all arguments and grievances dying down into murmurs and then silence.

"If no one else will take her…then it is agreed, as head of the Uchiha clan I, Uchiha Fugaku request to the elders that the girl in question should be allowed into my own household."

Shocked Mikoto looked to her husband, but the stern face made no outward expression as to what he was thinking.

The council of three elders of the clan looked at each other before the spokesman cleared his throat, hoarsely asking.

"And may we inquire as to what purpose you wish to keep the Hyuuga child?"

Without looking at his wife or his elder son Fugaku clearly stated, "I wish to induct her into our family, in future hopes of a match between the Hyuuga girl to my eldest and heir, Uchiha Itachi."

Ah, she should have known.

Mikoto's small hands slightly fisted in her covered lap.

It was all about breeding after all.

The poor girl.

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Notes: Yeah this is where the AU plot starts to get underway. Yes, there still will be ninja, and other characters will be gradually introduced; sorry if the plot is moving rather slowly by the way. Anyway if you like then review and tell me what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

Hitsuzen

Notes: Wow! Once again I am impressed with all of the positive response I have received on these last two chapters. Now there will of course by OOC-ness, it really can't help it with a plot like this, but hopefully this fic will still be enjoyable.

Chapter Two:

A Flame for a Fan

"This will be your room," Mikoto had said, having caroled both her newly 'adopted daughter' or rather far into the future daughter-in-law, and second son toward the back of the house.

Itachi, her eldest, had been silent and cold toward everyone after the meeting and that usually meant a…not so much as an argument as much as a disagreement.

The point being that Mikoto could tell that the heir and head of the Uchiha clan would most likely be butting heads over this particular subject well into the night.

A part of Mikoto could sympathize with Itachi's rebellion. The boy was only eleven and already his father was pledging him to a girl who was the same age, if not a few months younger, than his own brother. Yet another part, the sensible part wished that Itachi would accept thing as they were…just like she had when she had been pushed into an arranged marriage with Fugaku.

On either side of Mikoto, Hinata to the left and Sasuke to the right, the two children were currently oblivious of the tension caused by the decision concerning Hinata.

The boy frowned, already taking notice that the girl's room was bigger than his, since it was the old guest bedroom. Feeling the boy staring at her Hinata clung closer to Mikoto-san, coiling her small frame and moving easily with the older woman when she was lead inside.

Hinata could see that some of her clothes were already folded and neatly arranged on her bed and inside the open closet. A good portion of them were kimonos, others were simple shirt and pants outfits along with a few of the long sleeved jackets that she liked to wear.

Entering the room with Hinata, Mikoto frowned slightly, noting the small flame emblems of the Hyuuga, they would have to get those replaced…or better yet get rid of the jackets, shirts, and pants.

The attire was unsuitable for a young lady, the kimonos would do, but Mikoto could already see that the Hyuuga flames would have to be replaced with Uchiha fans.

The Hyuuga's were deserters and now the enemy of Konoha so Hinata would have to 'forget' her short past with her own family.

Speaking of the girl, Hinata sat on the edge of the bed, tenderly running her child fingers over the hem of her formal attire.

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Downstairs the air surrounding the two men of the Uchiha household was tense and crackling, despite the fact that as of yet not a single word had been exchanged, only dark glares.

The message however was loud and clear, Itachi was very displeased about this whole business.

"Why did you agree to betroth me to someone who isn't even my age?"

Shoulders squared the father and head of the clan returned with a callous stare of his own, "You are aware that our own clan is a distant relation to the Hyuuga clan," he paused, Itachi neither confirming or denying that he was listening yet Fugaku knew that he was.

Itachi had a stubborn streak but the boy wasn't called a 'genius' for nothing. Itachi had enough sense to know when to listen to reason.

So the patriarch of the clan continued with his explanation, "Imagine, the possibilities of re-introducing the Hyuuga bloodline..."

Itachi was listening, however how much he actually 'heard' was a different matter all together.

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The next morning Hinata gingerly stepped into the kitchen. Sasuke was staring sourly at his rice porridge, he hated this part of breakfast. The eggs were good, so were the small grilled fish and miso soup…but he hated rice porridge.

The moment Hinata sat at the table Sasuke decided to make good use of his new 'sibling' by shoving the bowl her way.

Blinking wide pale eyes Hinata stared at the untouched rice then up to an 'innocent' looking Sasuke.

Hinata's stomach grumbled from lack of food, and well how bad could it be?

Just as Hinata was about to dig into the rice porridge Mikoto shook her head at Sasuke before taking the bowl away from Hinata and passing it back to her youngest son.

"Sasuke finish your breakfast then you may leave," Mikoto stated rather than scolded.

Dark eyes looked back to the bowl and his chopsticks before very reluctantly eating, drat foiled again.

Hinata frowned; peering over the edge of the table to Mikoto-san's turned back.

Feeling the stare the woman turned her head a small smile on her lips, "Don't worry Hinata-chan your breakfast is coming up next."

Waiting patiently Hinata lightly swung her legs back and forth restlessly, gaining Sasuke's attention. The girl was weird. She fidgeted all the time and cried like a baby rather than acting 'normal'.

Thoughtfully chewing on his rice Sasuke recalled that all girls were 'weird' especially the ones that went to the academy. Two in particular liked to follow and cling to him.

Just as Mikoto set Hinata's plate down Itachi walked into the kitchen, already wearing his Chunin vest over a dark shirt and dark pants.

"…out on another mission already Itachi?" Mikoto asked quietly.

Itachi nodded mutely in response, his gaze momentarily turning to the 'children'. Sasuke of course was beaming; proud of his older brother…the girl…his future wife if his father had his way, stared up at him, more out of curiosity than actual interest.

In turn Itachi paid her no mind that is until the girl's soft voice could be heard form the kitchen.

"…weasel."

Three heads turned quickly, causing Hinata's face to flush with embarrassment, she hadn't meant to say that aloud!

Turning from the front door Itachi looked down at the girl before asking, "What did you just call me?"

Lowering her gazes, looking now to the floor rather than to the older boy Hinata stuttered and stumbled.

"Y-your name…that's what it means…well at least where I come from I- I am not sure about here, and um…you've got these lines on your face," Hinata demonstrated with her two index fingers noting the faint lines on either side of Itachi's face that made his facial structure seem narrower and similar to a weasel.

Sasuke looked up; come to think of it…niisan did look kind of like…

Mikoto tried to bite back a small snicker, instead fisted her hands inside the pockets of her apron.

Rather than becoming mad, indignant,t or even amused Itachi regarded Hinata with a little less curiosity then she had him, before quietly turning and walking away.

Once he left Hinata frowned to herself, moodily poking one of the small grilled fish with her chopsticks.

Had she said something wrong?

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Notes: Well still a rather short chapter but at least it wasn't all drama-depressing as the last few were. Anyway review if you like. Later!


	4. Chapter 4

Hitsuzen

Notes: My plot bunnies have been doing some overtime on me, hence the constant updates of this and my other new fic- shameless self promotion plug- Though I will say that this will be one of the more…well interesting fics I will do because it is AU…but not, weird I know but you'll see eventually.

Side Note: I still haven't decided about future 'pairings' I will have some though, I am such a Hinata fan that I can't help but pair her up with someone…or some cases with a lot of 'someone's'! Also this will be a mostly fluff-funny chapter, but there will be some plot development toward the end.

Warning: Again OOC-ness and a few 'twists' in the plot. I am also thinking of making this fic part drama, part humor, part romance…but the last part will be later so I guess humor-drama for now…strange combination I know but once you read this chapter you'll see why.

Chapter Three

Of Ninja Toads, and Fan Girls

Ripples formed in the swallow crystal clear stream as wide pale eyes peered over the edge of the bank, Hinata lying contently on her stomach for the moment among the short green blades of grass.

It was peaceful and perfect; but not for long…

Splash!

A small girlish squeak came from Hinata as a barefooted Sasuke, who was standing knee deep in the stream, decided to kick up water.

Wrinkling her nose and shaking her hair of water drops Hinata then turned a pale gaze to Sasuke. In response the boy tried to look 'innocent' hands clasped behind his back and walking away…that is until he was splashed in return by Hinata.

Oh he had just been playing earlier, but now that Hinata had splashed him back, it was war!

Propped up against a large boulder Itachi glanced up from his open book for a split second before quickly losing interest. He didn't have any missions to complete, so that meant he was left to baby sit.

In the past Sasuke would have been content with just being around the Uchiha compound, only offering the occasional pester for Itachi to train-teach him something new, however with the introduction of the girl Sasuke seemed more adapt to getting into trouble or rather getting 'Hinata' into trouble.

So even Mikoto, with her mountain of patience, had decided that it would be best if Itachi accompanied his siblings outdoors where they could easily expel energy without breaking something, crashing into a wall, or generally causing havoc.

"Oww oww oww!"

Sighing Itachi put his book down, "Sasuke, quit pulling Hinata's hair…"

"I wasn't!" Sasuke protested, letting go of said stray wet lock of indigo before Itachi could see him.

Rolling dark eyes Itachi went back to his book.

Kids.

It was times like this that Itachi was so glad that he never was one.

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Still smarting from the hair pulling, which Sasuke so did not do…yeah right, Hinata started to wander around the stream looking for anything interesting.

However Sasuke wasn't finished with his good natured 'sibling' torture.

"Hey, Hinata come over here and look at what I found!" the boy said, sounding excited.

Curious to a fault Hinata carefully wadded over to Sasuke,"What is it?" she asked, pale lavender eyes staring at the cupped pale hands.

Without warning Sasuke opened his hands and out popped a small green frog that instantly leapt out to Hinata.

Spooked the girl stumbled back, falling flat on her bum in the cold stream water and soaking her yukata while Sasuke tried to catch the frog again.

However said amphibian knew better than to slow down and kept hopping, first out of the stream, over the embankment, and into the small patch of thick trees and bushes.

"Hey! Get back here!" Sasuke said as he went to chase after the frog.

"Um…Sasuke, I- I don't think that's a good idea," Hinata said while trying to wring water from the hem of her yukata.

Not listening to her Sasuke still chased after the frog.

The girl frowned, casting one look to Itachi, who was still reading his book as if nothing had happened, then to the thick clump of trees.

"…w-wait for me!" the girl called as she got up out of the stream and followed the boy leaving wet foot prints in the dirt as well as small puddles of water from her still drenched yukata.

Daring to peer over the edge of his book Itachi debated whether he should go after them or not. On one hand mother and father would be 'mad' if they found out that he had allowed them to wander off and get lost.

On the other hand…no there was no 'other hand'. The kids were going to get him in trouble if he didn't get them out of that forest.

Sighing Itachi pocketed his book before standing up to chase after the wayward children.

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Small frog-limbs scrunched and recoiled as the little green critter tried to escape the ghostly pale greedy grasp of the Uchiha boy. A little heart pounded as the frog hip-and-hopped, praying little 'froggy' prayers that he wouldn't be captured by the dark-haired 'monster'.

However…no one told the frog that it's deity was out on a lunch break for in the next instant Sasuke lunged, capturing the frog in mid flying-leap with tightly clasped hands.

"Gotcha," Sasuke said, triumphant that he had caught the little frog once more, now he needed to get back to scare Hinata some more, yet plans went astray as Sasuke turned and bumped right into his sister.

The shock of the sudden collision once again released the frog from Sasuke's evil clutches while the two 'monsters' argued above him.

"You made me lose him again!"

"I…I am sorry. I can help you catch it again if you want me to."

The frog croaked-gulped…that didn't sound good.

And sure enough now the frog had two pursuers on it's tail.

Blindly the frog hopped until a new pair of hands finally caught him for a third time.

Dirt smeared on her left cheek and down the front of her yukata, holding the squirming frog in her hands.

"I got him!" the girl said, only to realize that yes she had caught 'it'…but 'it' was a icky frog.

Just as Hinata was about to sit up and pass it back to Sasuke a long pink tongue suddenly wrapped around the green creature before snatching it from Hinata's small hands.

Yes today just was not the frog's day, for a very large toad had just captured and devoured.

Sasuke and Hinata froze when they started at this grandfather of toads. Orange body, big warty bumps, and slick looking skin. Golden pupils lazily eyed the two children who, in comparison to the toad, would make a nice 'light snack'.

Just as a long tongue darted out to catch Hinata a shuriken was thrown deflecting said tongue.

Eyes closed tightly, Hinata slowly blinked them open when she heard a loud 'ribbit!' coming from the ginaromous toad. To her right Sasuke had already drawn three more shuriken.

The monster toad gave them both an angry glare, large webbed feet placed hard on the ground causing a slightly tremble which in turned caused both Hinata and Sasuke to shiver.

Despite the tremors Sasuke held onto the small weapons while Hinata ducked behind her older brother.

It was a match between boy…and one very large and ugly toad.

Another shuriken flew, but to Sasuke and Hinata's surprise the long pinkish tongue shot out, deflecting the weapon.

Now while Sasuke wasn't 'dumb' he was however not the brightest when it came to common sense…such as knowing when to retreat.

Instead he was dead determined to beat this monster.

So another shuriken flew, this time the frog jumped up in the air and kicked it back to the boy, who thankfully ducked just in time.

Dark eyes narrowed, okay so this was a large toad that apparently had some experience dodging and deflecting weapons…no problem Sasuke could handle that.

The third shuriken…was grasped by the tongue and then spat back out this one cutting dangerously close.

Digging out more throwing weapons from his pants pockets Sasuke glanced back to reassure his timid 'sister'.

Hinata had been rather quiet so Sasuke figured that the she was scared to death.

"Don't worry Hinata. I won't it get you…Hinata?" Sasuke questioned when he saw that his sister had abandoned him.

The boy frowned. Well that was just great! Save her life and she runs away and leaves him to fend for himself!

However Sasuke forgot all about his traitor of a sibling when he could feel a wheezing air from the toad breathing down his neck.

Gulping the boy slowly turned to see the giant toad looming over him.

The large toad blinked amber eyes, catching sight of the 'genius' of Uchiha who had the small girl in tote.

Snorting, causing a puff of wind to ruffle Sasuke's hair before turning away.

Heck the large toad knew when he was out matched…yeah Itachi was **that** good.

Once the monster left Sasuke gave a small sigh of relief.

" Sasuke…are you okay?" Hinata asked, which earned her a small glare and a light 'bonk' on the head.

"You idiot, you left me and…ouch!" Sasuke exclaimed as Itachi 'poked' him.

"What was that for?" the boy pouted.

"To teach you not to hit girls," Itachi replied simply.

Still rubbing the sore spot on his forehead Sasuke looked to a rather smug looking Hinata.

"What was that thing anyway?" Hinata asked quietly.

"A toad summon," Itachi said simply, figuring that would answer the question and it would keep the kids quiet, however the blank stares told him otherwise.

Itachi just barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Okay Hinata had an excuse because she wasn't in the academy, but come on! Sasuke should at least know what a summon animal was.

"Okay, sometimes a ninja makes a contract with a animal, such as a slug, snake, or toad…" he began.

Hinata and Sasuke nodded, showing that so far they understood.

"By performing a ritual a ninja can summon the animal they have made a pact with by cutting their thumb and smearing it on a summon scroll. Once the animal is summoned it can fight in place of the ninja."

Okay…now we were back to the blank stares.

Frowning Itachi cleared his throat, "…any questions?"

He was close to retracting that statement when Hinata's hand rose hesitantly.

Nodding Itachi allowed her to speak.

"Um so what you're saying is that… it was a ninja toad?"

Hand meet Itachi's forehead, forehead meet right palm, "Not exactly…" the prodigy grumbled.

Sasuke's expression went from confusion to childish enlightenment. To a six year old a band of 'ninja toads', all dressed in black with long sticky tongues as weapons, made more sense then this business about 'pacts' and 'summoning scrolls'.

Poor Itachi.

Apparently the next batch of genin nin was already falling below his lofty expectations.

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The following morning Hinata was to be introduced as a new academy student. Lost among all the stares that seemed to follow her, Hinata clung close to her 'older brother' Sasuke for protection.

Looking a bit perturbed at his sister ruining his cool image and clinging to him Sasuke frowned and tried to 'shake' Hinata off his arm, only to have the girl cling tighter.

"Let go!" Sasuke said, already noting the snickers and stares that the guys in his class were giving them.

In response Hinata shook her head refusing to let go, that is until two blurs one gold the other pink, swarmed and struck pushing the white-eyed girl aside in their fervor to get to Sasuke.

Shoved to the ground Hinata's lower lip quivered, scared of all these new people.

"Get off! Get off!" Sasuke protested as Ino and Sakura clung to him.

The boy's dark eyes caught Hinata's teary eyes and quivering bottom lip.

In a flash Sasuke picked up his younger sister, and allowed her to cling to him.

It was that day that Sasuke discovered that a sure fire way to keep girls off of him…was to have his 'sister' clinging to him instead.

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Notes: Yeah this was mostly a funny-fluff chapter but don't worry there will be some plot to give this cotton candy a spine, hopefully this chapter was still enjoyable regardless. Anyway if you like review kay?


	5. Chapter 5

Hitsuzen

Notes: Thank you again everyone for your reviews. As promised this will mostly be a plot chapter, so expect some angst, come on this story involves Sasuke so yeah there will be angst somewhere along the line.

Side Note: This chapter takes two years after chapter three, yeah big time jump I know but don't worry it' necessary to the story. So age-wise Itachi is thirteen, Sasuke is eight, and Hinata is seven.

Chapter Four:

Deviant

Dark ebony eyes skimmed over the contents of the unfurled scroll. A few weeks ago Itachi had found some rather intriguing documents concerning the Sharingan or rather an evolution to it. So far it was enthralling to read about this next 'level' to an ability that he had supposedly already had mastery over. Hungry, no starving, for more Itachi had riffled through the old family library, dragging out dusty scrolls, journals, and documents, anything thing that had the slightest hint or detail about the…

Hearing the faint 'patter' of footfalls across the wooden floor board, quickly the scroll was rolled up and concealed into the right pocket of his pants as Itachi waited for the 'intruder' to make an appearance.

Pale eyes, a sharp contrast to the darkness greeted the night-owl scholar of illicit knowledge.

For a second Hinata thought about pulling back and going back to bed since Itachi was still awake and sitting at the table with a mostly blank scroll unrolled in front of him, a inked quill poised to take notes, yet he paused glancing up at her.

She swallowed. Two years of living among the Uchiha clan had forced Hinata to become accustomed to her new 'family…save for the teenage boy. Itachi was just so strange to her. Sasuke she could talk with and play around with because they were the same age…but it wasn't even age so much as distance that Itachi placed around not just him and her…it was with everyone else as well.

"…what are you doing awake?" Itachi asked, his own dark eyes rimmed with tired circles of sleeplessness.

"I was thirsty," Hinata began, indeed her throat felt very dry, yet more than the lack of hydration it was a bad dream that kept her awake, but she'd rather not tell Itachi about it. He wouldn't be interested after all.

"I-I am sorry that I disturbed you Itachi-niisan," she said softly, bowing in an excuse to keep from looking at his darkly intense eyes, "I'll just get a glass of water and leave."

Itachi shifted slightly. Glancing at the girl child as she scurried around the kitchen, all the while feeling contempt toward his father's rash yet concrete decision; needless to say Itachi often wished that she had never been handed over to the Uchiha clan.

This thing…this tiny waif was supposed to be his wife when she came of age?

It wasn't just impossible, it was ridiculous, would have been utterly humorous if he wasn't trapped in the midst of it.

There was a slight clank of glass and the twisting of a tap as Hinata outstretched her slender twig like arm to fill up the cup with water, once it was half filled the faucet was turned off as the girl shuffled to retreat but stopped when Itachi spoke up.

"You don't have to leave. I…wouldn't mind the company, " he lied graciously.

Blinking the girl looked up, "A-are you sure?"

Rather than responding to her question Itachi went back to the scroll, easily recalling what little bit of information that he gathered from the scroll that was now hidden so Itachi didn't look up when he heard the scraping of the chair being pulled out when Hinata sat down.

Taking a sip of water from her glass Hinata tried not to be nosy and glance at what Itachi-niisan was writing, however it was proving to be difficult to resist temptation as Itachi's quiet scrawling of ink onto parchment nibbled at her curiosity.

Instead of 'giving into' her urges to take a peek Hinata rested her head on the kitchen table, pale lavender eyes blinking sleepily.

Itachi only noticed the sleeping girl when he dared to look up over the limited vision of scroll and inked pen to see the lowered head and closed eyelids.

An expression that borderline a frown appeared on the teen's face, before he lightly 'poked' Hinata's pale left arm with the pen.

"Hey…wake up and go to bed,"

Poke poke. Poke poke

"I am not carrying you upstairs."

Poke…

A small moan of protest came from Hinata, but otherwise she didn't stir. Biting back a small sigh Itachi knew that he couldn't leave her to fall asleep at the table, yet Hinata refused to wake up.

Having no choice but to give in, mother would give him a subtle earful if he allowed Hinata to remain asleep at the breakfast table, so grudgingly Itachi stood up and gingerly shouldered the young girl.

Nestled against his chest Hinata started to rouse back into consciousness when she felt Itachi's feet hit the first two steps. Blinking eyes were pressed against a thin shirt but Hinata remained perfectly still and quiet, obediently closing her eyes once more when Itachi maneuvered the door to her bedroom open.

Hinata had to will herself to remain still when she was placed on top of the bed, squeezing her eyes shut…

Noting the stiff posture and the wrinkled forehead Itachi knelt beside the bed and lightly 'flicked' the girl's nose.

A small 'yelp' of surprise came from Hinata as eyes opened, nose wrinkling similar to an agitated bunny rabbit.

"That should teach you not to fall asleep on the kitchen table, eh Hinata-chan?" Itachi 'warned' the girl before standing back up and walking out of the room.

Nose still smarting from the 'flick' Hinata curled under the covers of her bed.

Itachi-niisan was so weird.

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A few days later the Uchiha compound was abuzz with quiet whispers and the churning wheel of the rumor mill.

A young boy had been found in the stream just outside the compound…dead.

Everyone assumed it to be suicide.

No one dared to speak of such gruesome things in front of the children; however Mikoto found it hard to keep silent especially when both Hinata and Sasuke started to question as to why they were donning drab clothing and then later black yukata.

Turning her gaze away from the cup of tea, that had long since grown cold Mikoto couldn't help but get this nagging feeling that something wasn't right.

Shisui had been a very bright young man, who had forged a rare connection with Itachi. Perhaps it was because both young men were geniuses in their own right, the only difference being that Itachi was four years younger than Shisui.

Yet, Itachi…seemed so nonplused about Shisui's death. Almost as if…he didn't care.

Now Mikoto knew, being a former Jounin herself that over time you kill so many people, see so many of your family, friends, and comrades die that death just becomes ingrained into your memory and slowly the sting lessens and tasted less embittered.

But…you still feel **something**, you betray at least a little bit of yourself when grieving someone who was once close to you.

Itachi…he acted too casual…too normal…

Taking a sip from her tea, only to make a face yet drinking it anyway so the tea wouldn't go to waste, Mikoto sat listening to the light patter of rain outside, and the shuffling footsteps above.

Pushing lightly on the door Hinata glanced inside to see Sasuke laying back on his bed, tossing shuriken into the opposite wall. The star-shaped blades landed in the wall, making pock marks along the wooden surface.

Had not the mood been heavy, both from the rain outside and the funeral they had attended earlier Hinata would have been tempted to 'tattle' since Sasuke wasn't suppose to be throwing stuff in the house, let alone marking his bedroom wall up with holes from the shuriken.

As it was Hinata demurely folded her legs underneath, the dark soft fabric of the kimono a sharp contrast to pale skin and eyes, her gaze watching each bit of silver that flew past from Sasuke's place on the bed and into the wall with a dull 'thunk', a constant, repeating, and comforting motion.

"…is Itachi back yet?" Sasuke finally asked.

Hinata slowly shook her head.

"No…Mikoto-okaasan is waiting for him downstairs though."

Despite Mikoto's efforts the two children had heard of the malicious rumors that were floating about.

Some of the more disgruntled relations were saying that Itachi had killed Shisui-san.

"…he didn't do it." Hinata said strongly, her head shaking in discouragement at such a notion.

Itachi-niisan was weird…not a murderer.

"…yeah. Of course he wouldn't." Sasuke replied.

Shisui was a good friend to Itachi, why would Itachi want to kill him?

The room became quiet again, both children knowing that they weren't as assured as their voices sounded.

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Three months passed and slowly the rumors quieted, stilled but not quite dead just yet.

Itachi could feel the burning stares of his relations following him everywhere, as if waiting for him to do or say something that might hint at guilt or to prove his innocence.

For the most part Itachi shrugged it off.

What he couldn't 'shrug' off however was the small Hyuuga girl whom was accompanying him in picking up Sasuke.

Hinata however was all too aware of the stares, causing her to shrink closer to Itachi until her smaller body was pratically molded to the taller boy's side.

She just wished that everyone would quit looking at him like that.

However instead of saying anything the timid girl bit her lip. Honestly…she wasn't sure about whether the rumors were true or not.

Sasuke however didn't seem to believe them, for only weeks after the funeral the boy was asking Itachi to train with him yet again.

Hinata…was unsure as to what to believe.

Yet she did hate how people would look at Itachi as if he was some sort of criminal.

The stares seemed to follow them out the compound as the two Uchiha, one the heir the other a 'honorary' member, yet thankfully seemed to burn less with each footstep away from the rows of houses.

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Half and hour later the three of them crossed over into the Uchiha compound only to find the streets seemingly empty.

"Strange…" Itachi mused aloud, looking to the horizon; it was barely sundown so where was everyone?

Suddenly Itachi's eyes caught sight of a shadow…no several leaping across rooftops and running at breakneck speed, the hem of a dark cloak fluttering.

And Itachi could see the tale-telling smears of crimson along the spine of an unsheathed katana.

Unaware of the invading nin Sasuke decided to race Hinata to the house, which the girl very reluctantly agreed to.

Once Itachi realized what was going on he lunged to catch the two children, but not before Sasuke reached the door to the house.

"Ha! I won!" the boy crowed, trying to catch his breath while leaning on the door only to exclaim at the unlocked door gave way under his slight push.

Collapsing to the ground Sasuke glared at the giggling Hinata, "It's not funny," he began, a hand placed down on the floor boards, only to grimace as his fingers felt something warm, slick, yet sticky.

Curious Sasuke brought his hand to his face, dark eyes becoming wide as the pale digits had blood smeared all over them, the 'innocent' puddle of red just a few inches ahead of him.

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Notes: Ah dramatic cliffe and…so far the biggest plot twist of the fic! Any who thanks for reading and I promise to have chapter five up soon kay?


	6. Chapter 6

Hitsuzen

Notes: Epp! Sorry for not updating in awhile. Blame it on a combination of plot bunnies and mountains of college course work that needed to be completed for the delay.

Side Note: Mostly plot chapter. Surprisingly not a lot of angst considering well…the entire Uchiha clan was slaughtered in the last chapter…yes I am in a rather fickle-funny mood today.

Chapter Six

Aftermath

"…Uchiha Itachi…do you solemnly swear that you were not involved in the massacre of the Uchiha clan?"

He will say this about the elders of Konoha…they got straight to the point and rather quickly as well.

Back straight, yet not stiff, Itachi sat in front of the council of three, with at least five masked and cloaked ANBU waiting for him to make the slightest movement.

Rather than indulging them with an admission of guilt-or a plea of innocence- Itachi calmly stated.

"I told you before; I was walking Sasuke and Hinata home when it occurred. How could I have taken part in it without either one of my…siblings," he said the last word carefully since technically Hinata was more of a future wife than a 'sister', "being aware of it?"

The female elder looked to the Third Hokage. Ultimately it was the Third's decision as to whether or not to question Itachi further. This was a rather tricky situation since it was no secret that Itachi was already suspected of at least being 'involved' if not directly responsible with the death of another Uchiha, but while there were suspicions the boy had never been formally convicted of anything.

And it was rather disconcerting that while both Hinata and Sasuke were nearly cationic with terror Itachi was relatively cool and calm.

Almost like he…didn't care.

But on the other hand there were the two children to consider as well.

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"…great, this is just wonderful!" the nurse exclaimed while wandering up and down the children's ward of the hospital.

One of the other nurses just now finishing rounds came out of one of the rooms, "What is it Yukino?"

The elder of the two sighed heavily, hand on her hip, "I've lost track of the little girl…you know…" she lowered her voice in a whisper, "the Hyuuga girl that the Uchiha clan took in."

Gray eyes widened, "Oh. Oh I see," she frowned slightly in response, "Poor things, both of them."

"I would feel more sympatric if the little girl urchin would quit running off…"

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Tiny footsteps resounded down the otherwise hallow hall. Pale eyes looked peered around the hallway. She was still in the children's ward of the hospital, yet even after looking into several rooms Hinata still hadn't discovered what she was searching for.

Finally she opened the 'right' door.

Huddled up Sasuke flinched underneath the covers and flinching against the intrusive light that came from the open door to the hallway, burrowing his head under the large pillows muttering to the intruder, "Go away…"

At first she cringed, about to leave, Hinata didn't want to say if Sasuke-niikun didn't want her to.

But then she heard him crying.

Her small hand slowly left the door, closing it behind her with a soft 'click'. Hesitantly she walked into the dark hospital room.

Sniffling Sasuke, who was still curled up in a ball suddenly froze as he felt the thin sheet being lifted as someone leaned over the bed.

"What are you doing…?" he began, cutting off as Hinata leaned over and hugged him tightly.

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It was nearly dawn when the third and the council of elders finally released him. There would be more inquires made tomorrow, that much had been 'promised' to the young, and now next to the last Uchiha.

Exhausted Itachi just wanted to get Sasuke out of the hospital, get home and decided later what to do about the Hyuuga.

They couldn't keep her. And with the pretty much 'death' of the Uchiha clan no one else in Konoha could be 'forced' to take her in. And…he really didn't want to keep the girl until she grew up to proper age for marriage. He never wanted to marry her, nor could he wait for some else to take him off her hands.

She could stay at the hospital for a few days, its' not like it would kill her, and maybe if someone was generous enough a nurse or doctor would take and 'adopt' her.

However…all of his plans, or rather escape routes that concerned the small Hyuuga girl faded when he stood at the entrance to the room where Sasuke had slept in last night.

The ruffled jet black hair of the boy was clearly visible on the pillow and so was a mop of indigo hair. The two children were huddled side by side; Sasuke's head leaning on the Hyuuga girl, both sleeping peacefully, unaware that Itachi had caught them.

With a rather confused stare Itachi reluctantly shook his head, waking them up and taking both children to their 'new' home, a small apartment provided by the Hokage.

He would figure out later as to what to do with Hinata.

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The next sunrise Hatake Kakashi lightly tapped on the door. Not a minute after the tap was he greeted by a pissy, and rather grumpy, looking Itachi, long dark hair sticking up in odd places, and his dark eyes rimmed in gray like bags.

"…wow. You look like crap."

Itachi rolled his dark eyes, "What do you want Hatake?"

"Nothing much," Kakashi began, handing over Itachi's ANBU mask and cloak.

An irritated tic formed over Itachi's right brow.

"What is this for?" he asked.

"Consider this as the Hokage handing you the 'pink slip' Itachi."

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Meanwhile a barely awake Hinata tumbled out of her bedroom. Curiously she glanced around the apartment. Yesterday, when Itachi-niisan had first taken her and Sasuke to this place, Hinata felt a bit daunted in having to learn her way around yet another 'home'. However she at least knew her way to the kitchen. And Itachi had bought eggs, milk, and flour, along with some other groceries that afternoon.

Which of course translated to the young girl as: pancakes, but…Hinata frowned a little, but she didn't think Itachi knew how to cook and Sasuke…well Sasuke could burn water as that one instant ramen 'incident' told of.

She looked into Itachi's bedroom. The bed was made up, and there was no older brother inside so Hinata shrugged.

Oh well looks like she'll just have to make the pancakes herself.

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If looks could kill Kakashi knew that he would be a 'dead man' several times over what with the evil stares Itachi was giving him.

"May I inquire as to why I am being pulled from the ANBU squad?" he asked tensely.

Kakashi stared back, calm and as cool as a cucumber, "You know the rules Itachi. If you are accused of, or are under suspicion of, committing a crime your rank as an ANBU is revoked until you are proven innocent."

The two men, who were as close to an 'argument' as two could get without throwing punches or exchanging shouts, didn't notice that Hinata had snuck into the kitchen, rooting around to find the pancake stuff.

She had found the bag of flour under the cabinet; it was rather heavy so she placed it on the counter quickly. The carton of eggs were in the fridge so was the milk…something was missing though.

Hinata's questioning expression brightened. Of course sugar!

Again she looked in the bottom kitchen cabinets, frowning when she came up empty handed.

Looking up the girl drew the conclusion that the sugar was in the upper cabinets rather than the ones within her reach. Grasping the edge of the kitchen counter Hinata struggled to lift her small frame from the floor to the counter. Once seated, careful around the eggs, flour, and milk carton that she had already placed on said counter the girl reached up to open the cabinet door…

Crash…smash…thud…

Both Kakashi and Itachi looked to the kitchen just in time to see a mushroom cloud of flour explode. Looking to each other Kakashi shrugged as if to say, 'hey this is your house not mine, you go see what's wrong.'

Glowering one last time Itachi walked from the door and to the small kitchenette.

Sitting in the middle of the floor, sniffling as she had a large bump on her forehead from where a can of tomatoes had bumped her noggin and a skinned knee from falling on the floor. Hinata glanced up tearfully at Itachi. Big fat crocodile tear droplets forcing pale streaks of the chalky white flour down her face.

"G-gomen Itachi-niisan I…hiccup, I was trying to make breakfast…but I couldn't find the sugar and…the tomatoes hit me and…"

Itachi bit the inside of his cheek.

'Temper…temper,' he quietly reminded himself, especially since Kakashi was still at the doorway, no doubt listening in.

Gritting his teeth Itachi bent down and helped Hinata to her feet.

"It's…alright. Let's just clean you up," he began, still through clenched teeth trying to keep what little patience he had while dusting flour off the girl's night shirt.

"B-but I ruined breakfast…" Hinata cried, noting the smashed eggs, the busted flour bag, to which the white powder was all over the place, the milk carton being the only thing left in tact. Well intact enough to spill the white creamy liquid all over the floury-mess of a floor.

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Needless to say Sasuke woke up to a rather…interesting looking sight. The kitchen was dusted pure white so was Hinata.

Itachi had somehow managed to salvage enough ingredients- partly because he 'asked' Kakashi to go out and buy replacement eggs and flour- to make…brunt and crunchy egg-shelled pancakes.

After swallowing the first bite Sasuke made a face and moved to push his plate aside, however he took it back when Itachi glared at him.

Quietly the miss-matched trio 'munched' on Itachi's mockery of pancakes.

As Hinata 'bravely' ate the last bite the girl knew that she had to learn how to cook and fast…otherwise all three of them would either starve or die due to Itachi's toxic cooking.

…Either that or give Itachi-niisan a cook book for his next birthday.

This was Hinata's first step in realizing that the Uchiha brothers needed her.

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Notes: I know that I didn't go overboard, or even touched, on the angst… I am pretty much drained of my sad muse today. But anyway I hope that this was enjoyable and expect some small time skips in the next upcoming chapter! Later


	7. Chapter 7

Hitsuzen

Notes: Thank you everyone for your reviews! This chapter 'skips' ahead to where Sasuke and Hinata are about eleven years old: a year before the forming of the Genin squads. So that would make Itachi- pauses to count on fingers yeah I suck at math hush!- seventeen…I think…yeah let's go with seventeen.

Chapter Seven

Two against One

Crouched on a low hanging tree branch dark eyes stared down, waiting patiently, and utterly motionless save for the subtle intake and expel of air. His fingers curled and relaxed around the handle of the weighted kunai. The sharp weapon gleamed in the sunlight, alerting the 'target'.

Bored at having found his younger brother already Itachi withdrew no less than five shuriken easily flicking them to the leaf bedecked tree.

Black eyes widening Sasuke quickly darted out of the tree just before the five flying weapons impaled into the trunk of the tree in a neat straight row.

Itachi's red Sharingan activated eyes watched as Sasuke darted from tree to tree, just before turning and diving at him, kunai drawn.

Ducking under the strike Itachi reached and grasped Sasuke's throwing arm, slinging the boy around, bodily throwing him across the grassy hill.

Coughing at the dust his rough landing had kicked up Sasuke quickly got up from the ground, the kunai abandoned in favor of taijutsu.

Punch, swing, duck, block, swing kick…

"Oomph," Sasuke groaned as his feet were kicked underneath him, sending him back to the ground.

Looming over his brother Itachi offered a hand, to which Sasuke glared at before jumping to his feet again, this time taking the proffered hand in an attempt to bring it around Itachi's back…

"Ack! Itachi…let go!" the younger boy croaked as Itachi had turned so quickly that now Sasuke was in a tight headlock.

"Are you giving up?"

There was a pause before Sasuke stubbornly shook his head.

"Ah…suit yourself then." Itachi said as his grasp on Sasuke's neck tightened.

Gasping for air, his eyes squeezed tight, Sasuke struggled to pull out yet another kunai from the pocket of his pants, moving to stab Itachi's arm with it.

Quickly the elder of the two released him, pulling back as his hands went to form a very familiar seal.

Completing the seal Itachi inhaled before breathing out fire.

Rolling out of the way Sasuke managed to escape with only slight burn marks on his shirt. He frowned at the charred looking spots however he didn't have long to think about the ruined shirt, for in the next instant Itachi had punched him in the stomach.

Falling back for the third time Sasuke cringed while trying to regain the air that had been forced out of his lungs.

Itachi's shadow was cast over him as the elder brother's eyes faded from crimson to black, signaling that the 'welcome-home' spar was over.

"Too bad Sasuke. Perhaps next time you'll win." Itachi stated calmly and without expression as he 'poked' his younger sibling in the forehead.

Sitting up, wincing at the stitch in his side and rubbing at the 'poke' mark Sasuke got up to his feet, walking beside Itachi hands in his pocket.

As the two Uchiha boys entered the gates of Konoha there was the twitter and sighs of female voices as Sasuke and Itachi walked home.

Even though both were only teens, well Sasuke just barely so, it was evident that both young men were well respected by other shinobi for their considerable talent…and by the female populace- both civilian and shinobi alike- for their good looks.

Never mind that both Uchiha boys were blocks of ice when it came to 'accepting' love declarations, gifts, or pledges of feminine devotion.

Because of the cold shoulder to their female admirers some of the more embittered of the XX gender spread rumors that one, or perhaps both, were gay. And one woman was nearly lynched by both the 'Itachi fan club' and the 'Sasuke fan club' by 'suggesting' that perhaps the boys were experimenting with their uh particular preference on each other.

However…that was actually quite far from the truth…

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"We're home," greeted the curious turn of a female head.

Leaning over the counter Hinata glanced over to the front door, a white apron tied around her waist, she smiled in greeting to her two brothers.

"Ah, welcome home," she said with a small bow.

Sasuke glanced before taking off his shoes, "How many times have I told you…" kick, " to stop doing that Hinata? You're not our servant so you don't have to bow when we come home."

Standing up straight the young woman frowned in thought. Funny she recalled that Mikoto-okaasan had bowed when her husband and sons came home; but then again even after living with the Uchiha clan, and currently with its last two members, Hinata wondered if she would ever get the hang of protocol and such.

Looking up the girl beamed as she saw that Itachi-niisan was home.

"Welcome back niisan," she said cheerfully, "how was your mission?"

"Uneventful." Itachi said bluntly and simply, making Hinata fidget slightly, she had kind of been hoping for a more elaborate answer than that.

But rather than prod Itachi to talk more about his latest mission Hinata turned to a subject she was more comfortable with.

"I found a new recipe to try for dinner…"

Sasuke froze in the hallway.

Crap. He had forgotten that today was Tuesday. On Tuesdays Hinata tried something 'new' for dinner. Now while Hinata had grown up into a fine young girl…uh cook, she had a tendency to pick the oddest dishes to try…and it was always, always on a Tuesday.

"Uh…I just remembered…a friend from the academy invited me over for dinner…" Sasuke began already hastily pulling on his shoes.

Itachi glanced back, "What friends? You don't have any friends Sasuke."

"Shut up…" Sasuke hissed between gritted teeth, even though it was the truth. In fact the only two people he knew from the academy were Sakura and Ino…and that was because both girls spent every waking second telling him about themselves.

So it was a choice between intruding on a family dinner with the blushing- and sometimes overzealous- pink haired one or the clinging-glomp-a-leech- blond.

Inside the kitchen Hinata stirred the dinner before calling out to both her brothers, "Who would like to try some first?"

Translation of Hinata-ism to Uchiha dictionary: Who wants to be the first victim?

Now it wasn't that Hinata's cooking was bad. Actually six out of the seven days it was nearly gourmet…however when she tried something 'new' it often took Hinata several tries, and two very ill test subjects, to get it just right. Miraculously enough Hinata never seemed to be affected by her odd recipes, might be due to a cast iron stomach…either that or she wasn't eating the same stuff they were.

Itachi gave Sasuke a not-so-light push in Hinata's direction, "Sasuke lost in our spar today, so he gets to taste it first."

Hinata frowned at this reluctance, " My cooking isn't not that bad… is it?" she questioned.

Both boys shook their head, however Itachi still shoved a reluctant Sasuke toward the offered spoon of the 'new' chicken dish that was for dinner.

Still shaking his head Sasuke stubbornly jerked his head away from the spoon. Hinata was starting to look upset, and Itachi was getting pissed off at his cowardly brother.

Finally, taking matters into his own hands, Itachi leaned over and took the offered bit of food off the spoon.

Once it was inside his mouth Itachi pulled back, bracing himself for the race to the bathroom…however…he was surprised to find that it tasted good. Really good actually.

"D-do you like it?" Hinata asked.

Nodding Itachi savored the slight spices and was that curry he was tasting? Curry chicken wasn't something new but there was also some ginger…pepper…not bad at all.

"Here, try this too," Hinata said, taking a bit of the finished side dish and offering it to Itachi who quickly took a bite…

Watching the exchange Sasuke frowned sourly, tempted to get in there and break it up.

"Sasuke would you like some too?" Hinata asked, offering him a taste as well.

Eagerly Sasuke opened his mouth and took in the bit of food…chewing and enjoying it until Itachi said calmly.

"Indirect kiss."

Sasuke's jaw stopped moving and he almost choked on what he had already swallowed. Itachi was right, Sasuke had just eaten off the same spoon that Hinata had fed his elder brother with.

Quickly he turned and spat out what was still in his mouth.

Hinata sulked a little, "I-I guess it wasn't very good," she mused looking at the second side dish that Sasuke had tried- only to spit it out.

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When the food and plates had finally migrated from the kitchen to the small card table of a dinning room table all three gave 'thanks' before breaking their chopsticks and digging in.

Still moody about the 'indirect kiss' Sasuke refused to look either Itachi or Hinata in the eye. The later proving difficult since the girl was trying to get Sasuke to talk, Itachi wasn't one for conversation at the table…or conversation at all for that matter.

"So…how did your training go today?"

Sasuke shrugged, looking more to his food than to the inquiring cook, "Pretty good…that blond-haired idiot from our class tried to challenge me to a fight again."

He didn't notice the small smile that appeared on Hinata's face at the mention of Naruto, Itachi however did.

Interesting to say the least

"What about you?" Sasuke asked. Even though the academy classes were held co-ed, the boys and girls usually had separate training sessions in the afternoon.

Hinata's face brightened even more, which Itachi thought had been impossible, from when Naruto was mentioned.

"Oh! I almost forgot. I have something to show you both."

Curious Sasuke finally lifted his gave from the plate.

"Really? What?"

She smiled, obviously proud about something.

Yet rather than stating aloud what she wanted to show Hinata's hands formed the quick seal to activate her blood limit.

Sasuke watched as her seemingly pupil less pale eyes widened and showed faint circles as veins stretched across her face…

Itachi recognized it as the Byakugan, but since Sasuke was born just before the Hyuuga clan had exiled themselves from Konoha most likely he hadn't seen anything like this.

Still beaming with timid-pride Hinata proceed the nervously ramble, "It was just trying out the hand seals I had learned when I was little…and I guess I did something right this time b-because one minute all I could see was the training ground but then I could see birds several miles away, the Hokage monument. It was kind of scary at first…"

"What can you see now?" Sasuke interrupted, apparently curious about this blood line that was 'new' to him.

"Um," the girl bit her lip in concentration. Her Byakugan scanning around the apartment.

Itachi almost choked when he recalled the small stack of orange books he had stashed under his bed mattress. Damn that Kakashi for giving those to him for his birthday…and damn him for keeping and reading them. He silently 'hoped' that Hinata…

"Ah! I see a cat scaling the neighbor's balcony railing. Uh…apartment 56 is still empty. And upstairs Mr. and Mrs. Hino are…oh oh my…" apparently the girl 'shut off' the Byakugan.

Sasuke arched an eyebrow, "What did you see?"

Her face turned beet red muttering a, "Never mind, it's not important."

Sasuke was again miffed, this time because Hinata hadn't told him what she had seen…and Itachi was just grateful that his 'books' were safe from prying eyes. Though now that there was Byakugan user in the house he would have to find a better place to hide them.

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Once dinner was finished Itachi had taken off to his room- to hide his books- and Sasuke went to take a bath, leaving Hinata with the dishes. Jacket sleeves rolled up- she felt uncomfortable wearing kimonos or yukata for everyday so unconsciously Hinata had gravitated back to wearing jackets, shirts, and pants- the girl frowned when she noticed that her little silver ring was missing.

It wasn't much. Just a little trinket that Itachi and Sasuke had given her for her tenth birthday last year…but Hinata treasured it and it made her upset that she had lost it.

She searched the tiny kitchen, looking high and low, now weary about canned tomatoes, those always seemed to be out to 'get' her. Still no ring. She combed the dining-living room area, the hall, stopping in front of the door to Itachi's room.

Lightly she knocked on the door.

There was the sound of something going 'thud' and a curse uttered under breathe before the door opened.

Hinata was surprised to see Itachi normally immaculate room was a mess.

To keep her eyes from roving about Itachi spoke up, "Yes? Did you need something?"

"Um I…I was just wondering if you have seen my ring?"

Itachi thought for a moment, behind his back, clasped in his hands was one of the Icha Icha books that he was trying to hide.

"Nope I haven't seen it…" Itachi began, side stepping a little to keep Hinata from looking around the room. He had literally been turning upside down the entire expanse of the bedroom looking for all of those books and finding a better hiding place.

"Are you sure? I was cleaning around the house earlier so I was thinking that maybe I…what? What's the matter?" the girl began noticing the 'weird' stare Itachi was giving her.

"You were in my room earlier?" Itachi asked.

Hinata nodded, "I got a little bit bored waiting for you and Sasuke to come home…so I did some tidying up is that a…" the door slammed in her face, "…a problem?" Hinata finished.

Frowning a bit Hinata turned from the door, just missing Itachi 'blessing' out that 'perverted bastard Kakashi' for getting him hooked on those orange books.

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Sasuke was in a bit of a foul mood. When Itachi had passed him in the hallway a few minutes ago the elder brother had made a rather snide comment as to how Hinata could now activate her blood limit even without proper and intense training…where as Sasuke had yet to gain the Sharingan.

Clenching his teeth Sasuke roughly rubbed the lather of shampoo into his hair. It wasn't his fault damnit! So he was taking a bit longer activating the Sharingan, big deal. No reason for Itachi…and Hinata to rub in that fact to him.

Yeah she was at fault too. How dare she activate her Byakugan, her blood limit, when he was still struggling with his?

Sasuke was so busy fuming that he didn't hear the door to the bathroom open slightly.

Face blushing lobster red, eyes lowered to the tiled floor, as she blindly reached around the bathroom sink counter.

Sasuke jerked as he caught sight of a pale hand moving from the other side of the jarred door.

"Hinata! What the hell are you doing in here? Get out!" he yelled, quickly reaching for a towel.

"S-s-sorry!" the girl squeaked, eyes shut tightly, "I- I was just looking for my ring!"

With a towel tied around his waist Sasuke saw the small banded silver jewelry on the opposite end of the counter out of her reach. Smoothing shampoo out away from his face Sasuke thrust his arm out to the girl with closed eyes.

"Here, take it then…"

"Thank you," Hinata said, however her eyes were still closed so rather than grabbing the ring…her hand fitted around Sasuke's towel and took it.

Feeling the terry cloth Hinata blinked opened her eyes in surprise and made the mistake of looking back at her 'brother' who was now naked since she had his towel.

Her face turned red. His redder. Hinata eventually won the 'embarrassed chameleon color change contest' by turned cherry, lobster, fire engine…then she snatched the ring and quickly ran away just as Sasuke slammed the bathroom door closed with a slam.

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Notes: Believe it or not…there is plot underneath all that fluff! Anyway thanks for reading. Later


	8. Chapter 8

Hitsuzen

Notes: Wow! Thank you so much everyone for the encouraging reviews. As for those who requested Itachi-Hinata fluff…well it's rather difficult for me, even though Itachi isn't quite the murderous-sadistic-bastard we all know and love from the anime-manga since he's portrayed a bit differently in this fic doesn't mean that fluff with him involved is quite so easy to write…well at least for me it is…but I shall give it my best!

Side Note: Another skip! This chapter takes place when Sasuke is 12 and Hinata is just three months shy of 12 as well. So Itachi is…eighteen…I think. Also expect just a touch of angst to go with the subtle Itachi-Hinata fluff.

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Chapter Eight:

Eyes the color of moonstone watched as the steam from the cup of chamomile tea arose and then vanished into thin air. It was late…most likely past midnight, yet she didn't want to sleep. Itachi had told them, her and Sasuke that is, that since they were close to becoming Genin themselves he felt that now they were old and responsible enough for him to rejoin ANBU squad.

Hinata tried to act like everything was okay. She had nodded, agreed, and even managed a small smile saying that it was alright and that of course she and Sasuke were responsible enough to take care of themselves while he was away on longer missions.

But what she didn't say…was that she was worried that he might not come back.

The ANBU squad was only for the elite ninja for a reason…and even then some of them never came back alive.

It was stupid. She should be asleep, yet she waited, the tea turning cold from being left untouched.

Hinata shivered before looking to the ticking wall clock, smiling a little, it was a plastic clock shaped like a black cat, it 'mewed' the hour rather than chimed and it's 'tail' flicked back and forth. Sasuke and Itachi hated the clock; the former calling it 'too girly' yet the clock was one of the few things that Hinata was stubborn about keeping.

It was cute, it was girly, and it was hers, her contribution to the apartment. And as of this moment it was her sole companion for this midnight watch.

Resting her elbows on the table, something she would have been scolded for in the past, Hinata placed her tired head…only to jerk awake as she heard the light sound of footsteps hitting the roof tiles.

'It could be anybody,' Hinata thought to herself, trying not to get her hopes up that Itachi-niisan had gotten back so quickly.

Yet she was already on her feet when the door opened, "Welcome back..." she began but stopped when Itachi spoke up.

"Hinata go to bed," he said in a cold and crisp tone of voice that left no room for argument.

Already she thought the worse, "A-are you hurt niisan?"

Still in the shadows of the hallway Itachi shook his head, "Iie. I am not hurt."

Hinata's nose wrinkled, the smell of soured sweat and something that hinted strongly of copper churning her stomach even as she blindly reached out. Yet Itachi slapped her hand away, wet and slick red residue from his abrasive touch leaving it's mark on her pale skin.

"Don't touch me Hinata. I am a mess," Itachi mumbled the gore and blood he was drenched in still mostly hidden by the shadows of the hallway.

Pulling back her hand Hinata's eyes widened. Briefly an image came to her: everything was drenched in red…screaming…a katana blade…and…

She swallowed hard, fighting down bile at the sight of blood and pulled back to let Itachi brush past her before wandering to the kitchen sink. Turning on the tap, as far as it would go, as if the frigid water was going to make her feel less feverish and sick at the sight of blood Hinata ran her 'marked' hand under the tap, shivering as the cold water hit skin.

Her ears picked up the sound of the shower in the bathroom being turned on, the pelting water sounding like rain. She should go to bed…she really honestly should…yet Hinata found herself curled up on the worn sofa in the living room-dinning room rather than in bed. Still waiting…

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Tilting his head back Itachi let all the bloody mess washes out of his dark hair, the blood turning the running water pink before it fell through the holes in the open drain.

His hands, arms, legs, just about every part of his body, he had to scrub down vigorously with soap to at least slough off at least half of the blood. The smell of death still lingered…and to think that before he had taken his first mission as of rejoining the ANBU squad he had almost missed the sensation of slicing another's throat.

However…for whatever reason the thrill of holding the life of another in the palms of his hands was a temporary shot of adrenaline, a momentary boost. Now…even after years of being absent from the hunter nin division of the ANBU squad, he felt nothing.

And for him the feeling of 'nothing' was worse than anything he had ever experienced.

Once cleaned Itachi dried off, moving to 'hide' his ANBU uniform. Just long enough that he could wash it later when both Hinata and Sasuke were away at the academy. While Hinata had stepped up nice to fill the space of cook and housekeeper he didn't want her to see the outcome of one of his 'jobs'.

Hungry he wandered back upstairs from his bedroom, dressed in loose sleeping pants and a dark t-shirt, his eye catching the dozing girl huddled up on the couch.

Dark eyes narrowed. He didn't have time for this. He was exhausted, drained was more like it, hungry, and in rather a 'bad mood' or at least as close to a 'bad mood' as he could be in. In short too many things were going on for him to want to deal with her.

So he reached over to lightly shake her shoulder, "Wake up."

Hinata mumbled, tiredly rubbing her eyes and yawning wide…only to stop when she saw that Itachi was looming above her.

Closing her open jaw with a slight 'snap' Hinata had enough grace to blush before asking, "Why aren't you in bed niisan?"

Itachi's right eyebrow arched in question, "I was about to ask you the same thing."

Even though he often tried Itachi found it difficult to 'stay' mad at Hinata when she was sleepy or she when she was honestly concerned rather than offering false well wishes or condolences.

"Go to bed," he repeated, only this time it was a bit more gentle than the pervious command.

"Are you hungry?" Hinata asked, holding back yet another yawn with the back of her hand.

He nodded, "Don't worry about it, I'll find some leftovers…"

"there…yawn are no more leftovers. I…I didn't feel like cooking so Sasuke and I ate what was left of last night's dinner in the fridge…gomen."

"Stop apologizing," he said for what had to be the fifty-plus time since the girl had first arrived and lived amidst the Uchiha clan when she was five.

"I…I'll cook you something."

"No you should…" but before Itachi could finish Hinata was up and in the kitchen, already pulling on the apron.

Itachi would say this much for Hinata: she was a stubborn, helpful, little idiot.

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"Is this okay? The beef didn't get overcooked did it?"

Itachi shook his head, nibbling on the hastily put together, but still tasty, dinner.

"Good," she responded actually sounding relieved before going to wash the pot and pan that she used to make the beef stir fry.

Itachi glanced at her. She was still rather short so Hinata had to use a wooden stepping stool to fully stand over the deep kitchen sink. Her hair was growing out and she had it pulled back…and she looked very much like someone rather painfully familiar.

There was a long pause before Itachi finally said his piece.

"You really should stop trying so hard to be like her."

Hinata turned her head from the sink, nervously tucking back a lock of indigo hair, "To be like who?"

"…Mother. Or Mikoto-okaasan as you used to call her. It is an admirable effort…but you pretending to be like her won't replace or bring her back. So please stop trying. It's painful to watch you work yourself like that, trying to be patient and thoughtful like that."

Hinata's milky pale gaze turned to the clear running water. Silence taking the place of conversation as Itachi finished eating and placed his plate next to the sink.

Before he could walk off Hinata finally spoke off, "I…miss her though. And you and Sasuke must miss her too…don't you?"

She sounded near tears. Itachi bit the inside of his cheek. Now that he was clean and well fed he just wanted to sleep until morning and maybe even a little bit after daybreak if he could help it.

But he knew, she was tired too, she was hurt too, and what little bit of kindness he could muster up wanted to make amends. Yet that same kindness wouldn't allow him to lie to her.

"I don't miss anyone."

Hinata froze for a moment. He really didn't miss anyone from his family? True Itachi still had his younger brother, but he didn't even miss his father or his mother?

"…then…then what does make you sad?" Hinata found herself asking.

"…nothing. I don't feel anything."

The plate suddenly crashed, as it slipped from her grasp.

"..L-liar!" Hinata found herself blurting out, only to gasp and clamp her mouth tightly shut as she realized just how loud it sounded.

Itachi, who had been moving to the hall to enter his room suddenly stopped. Glancing over his right shoulder dark eyes widened slightly to see her standing there, wearing a white apron that was still a size or two too big for her, wearing a grown-up hairstyle, and crying fat droplets of childish tears.

"Y-you have to feel 'something'…" she whispered between soft sobs and falling tears, "You have to…you…" she suddenly stopped as Itachi crossed the small distance, his hand placed lightly on her shaking shoulders.

She dared to glance up seeing him kneeling down at her eye level, his fingers touching on the 'grown up' bun hairstyle she had tried to put her shoulder length hair into. The tie fell out and down came her hair.

"That's a bit better isn't it?" Itachi asked.

She mutely nodded; face turning tints of pink as Itachi lightly brushed his lips over her forehead.

"My mother was a great woman Hinata, but that doesn't mean you have to be her shadow. Try…and be your own person. Earn my trust and respect by being you and not some 'copy'. Do you understand?"

"H-hai…I understand Itachi-niisan."

"Good. Now go to bed, otherwise I'll receive a scolding from your sensei about allowing you to stay up so late."

Still a bit teary Hinata managed a small smile before pulling off the apron; however before she left Hinata tugged on Itachi's shirt.

Glancing back once more the girl surprised him by standing up on tip toe, missing his cheek by an inch, giving a small butterfly air kiss.

"When I earn your respect…then you have to do something for me…okay?"

Itachi pondered for a moment before agreeing, "Alright."

"Good night then." Hinata said before slipping around him to head off to her room.

For a moment Itachi stood there. He had just made a promise to a eleven year old girl. As to what he would have to give in return to her living up to his expectations…he could only guess.

But at least she wasn't acting like the ghost of his mother.

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Notes: I know that this chapter was rather short, serious, and a touch angst-y but hey that kind of happens with me when I write Itachi-Hinata fluff…I can't do funny-cute fluff as I can with Sasuke-Hinata, but hopefully it was still enjoyable. Later kay and expect a update soon and perhaps a funny side chapter to make up for the drama in this one .


	9. Chapter 9

Hitsuzen

Notes: Thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews! You have no idea how much I appreciate them.

Side Note: This chapter takes place when the Genin teams are being picked-sorted whatever, so Sasuke and Hinata are 12 and Itachi is still 18. Also note that I know that Sakura and Naruto are main characters, but I can't write them well so in this fic their roles will be minor and slightly OOC since I can't write Naruto or Sakura IC to save my life. I can however assure that I will refrain from character bashing

Chapter Nine

"Twenty bucks says he takes it."

Even from behind his ANBU mask Itachi had rather stunning glares; however the ferocity was lost when the gaze quickly turned to the girl who was foolishly-stupidly wandering the training ground.

The two other ANBU perched in the branches above him were placing bets as to when or if he would take the bento box Hinata was carrying.

"I-Itachi-niisan!" the girl called out, causing at least one- the one with the bear mask- to snigger and cockily imitate her soft quivering voice.

"Shut up man," the other said, jabbing the mocker in the ribs, "You're making him mad."

A snort, "Oh so I am pissing off the 'great' Uchiha Itachi, yeah I am _so_ scared."

'You should be scared,' Itachi thought with a silent pissed off snarl while Hinata continued to wander around.

"Um…I know that you keep telling me not to come here but there was a mix up with the lunches and…"

Finally given in Itachi swooped in, took the lunch box, went to the next tree and dropped the lunch that had originally been meant for Sasuke; but not before swiping the three cherry tomatoes and pocketing them, and dropping it into Hinata's still open hands.

The girl blinked in bemusement at the minute exchange of lunches but bowed just the same, "Thank you Itachi-niisan," then turned from the training ground to hurry up and catch up with Sasuke at the academy.

Leaping back to the tree that his team were waiting for the signal to begin the training session, which had been halted when the girl had intruded, Itachi secured the bento box up in one of the higher branches before glaring up at the two other ANBU, one stared down back at him in kind…while the other was trying to keep from laughing his ass off.

"Awww, Itachi you have a cute, not to mention well under aged, girlfriend. Why she even brings your lunches to you…isn't that just so 'sweet'?" the one laughing mocked, however he quickly swallowed said laugh when a neat row of shuriken penned various locks of his hair to the trunk of the tree.

"Not a word…not another word." Itachi replied coldly from his perch.

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The classroom was abuzz with excited whispers, idle chatter, and the occasional utter of a question about today's team formation or an inquiry made about how so-and-so did on yesterday's exam.

Above it all, or at least _thinking_ that he was above it all, was Uchiha Sasuke.

Seated in the center row of desks dark eyes stared ahead, hands folded in front of him while occasionally his gaze darted to the door to the classroom. Any minute now she would show up with the 'correct' lunch.

Sure he could have gone and retrieved his lunch without Hinata having to go fetch, but actually Sasuke was curious as to how the teams would be chosen. He wouldn't admit that aloud though. An Uchiha must be calm, aloof, distant…

And damnit where was the teacher?

…And why did they have to work in teams in the first place? Two extra people would just slow him down.

'Knowing my luck I'd get placed with a bunch of idiots.' Sasuke thought to himself, now scanning the classroom as if he was trying to part the Red Sea of idiots to vainly search for at least two people who he 'might' be able to tolerate and who 'might' **not** slow him down.

So far he was disappointed.

'No not that guy. Not her. Nope I hate him. Was this guy even in our academy class?'

And while his opinion might be a tiny bit bias Sasuke could have chosen at least one person on his team it would have been…

"Move out of the way Ino-pig!"

"In your dreams Forehead girl! I am sitting next to Sasuke-kun today."

Dark eyes rolled, great.

There was a brief scuffle at the end of the row as Sakura and Ino fought for the coveted position- also known as the seat next to Sasuke-

Suddenly there was an ugly, blue eyed- yellow haired…thing that decided to squat on top of his desk.

Narrowed eyes stared back, 'Naruto? They actually let him pass the exam?' Sasuke thought as he glared at the intruder.

Glares were exchanged and Naruto dared to move in closer, while Sasuke leaned back in his chair, just a little, not enough to be noticeable since he was not backing down from an unspoken challenge; but he didn't like the squinting blond to be that close to him.

At that moment Hinata came in, carrying both her and Sasuke's lunches. Pale eyes went straight to Sasuke's usual 'spot' and sure enough he was sitting there, but there was also Naruto-kun.

Her gaze suddenly felt a magnetic pull to the floor as her face started to flush.

However her moment of crush induced embarrassment was shocked back into reality as a collective gasp came from the girls surrounding 'Sasuke's' row.

Hinata blinked wide pale eyes as she watched…Naruto kiss…Sasuke.

No…that was impossible. Naruto…Sasuke… were kissing?

Suddenly there was a mod of girls jumping on Naruto and beating him up.

"Ah…s-stop please!" Hinata tried to blurt out, however the indignant cries of at least a dozen girls whose hopes had been dashed by those long five seconds drowned out her pleas for peace.

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"Um…"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"…okay then," Hinata said quietly, eyes turned to her own lunch now, studying her food as her mind wandered.

"Idiot," Sasuke grumbled sourly as he dug into the rice portion of the lunch.

"…I'm…sorry?" Hinata squeaked though not quite sure what she was apologizing for.

Sasuke turned to look at her, "Not you, I meant Naruto."

"Well he can't annoy you that badly...since you kissed him."

Sasuke glared, "I am telling you, it was a mistake! That wasn't even my fault, the idiot decided to sit on my desk and he was the klutz who tipped over and kissed me!"

"That's not what it looked like." Hinata said softly.

"It's the truth though," Sasuke started to protest before moodily turning back to his lunch, "…whatever. It's not like I care anyway."

Hinata glanced up in surprise. She found it rather amazing that Sasuke could remain so calm about this entire situation.

"Oh that's good."

Sasuke's right eyebrow twitch, he couldn't believe this. Hinata was actually 'buying into' his lie about it being okay.

He wasn't freakin **okay**! He had been kissed by a guy! A complete and utter moron at that! So no he was not OKAY!

There was a slight snap as Sasuke's right chopstick broke under the strain of his fist applying pressure to it.

Pale eyes looked over curiously at the broken utensil before musing aloud, "I should buy the better quality ones next time, these break too easily."

Sasuke just shook his head. Hinata was nice, but a bit clueless in certain instances. Like this morning when she had given him the wrong bento box. He hadn't even noticed the switch until he had tried to get a mini tomato out only to find that there were dangos instead of tomatoes.

"What kind of adult still eats sweets anyway?" Sasuke asked himself refering to Itachi, yet it was just loud enough for Hinata to hear it.

The girl in question responded softly, "Well dangos are Itachi-niisan's favorite food," she smiled a little, "just like yours are tomatoes, and you don't see him complaining about your preference."

"That's because he eats tomatoes too." Sasuke said, noting that where Hinata had packed at least three mini tomatoes now there were none, "And you know that I hate sweets."

Hinata had enough grace to look crestfallen, "Sorry I should have been more aware about. I was excited about today what with the team formation so I wasn't paying attention."

Oh yeah, that had just 'topped' off his terrific day. Finding out that he was teamed with both Sakura and Naruto. Iruka-sensei could have just as well signed Sasuke's passport to hell or at least that's the youngest Uchiha brother thought.

'And Hinata got placed on a team with two weirdoes,' Sasuke thought.

A guy who wore a jacket that nearly covered his entire body and a loud guy with a yappy white puppy.

Watching his 'sister' finish up her lunch Sasuke frowned at the reminder of his own, "They'd better not hurt you."

"Hmm?" Hinata questioned.

"Those teammates of yours. I don't trust them." Sasuke clarified.

"Shino-kun seems nice."

"He's weird."

"…well he's quiet at least."

"See? Weird. I talk more than he does and that's saying something," Sasuke admitted before popping a small spring roll sushi in his mouth.

"And Kiba-kun," Hinata paused as if trying hard to find something good about her other, and boisterous, teammate, "he…the puppy is cute."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "You're too nice."

Hinata's face pinked slightly, "I am not…really."

"Trust me, you are." Sasuke insisted with a small smirk.

"Tell me about your team then. What do you think of them?"

"Idiots. Both of them." Sasuke said simply as he leaned up against the wall, "One is a girl who's been stalking me since I was six years old and the other just barely passed the exam who also…"

"kissed you?" Hinata offered to fill in the blank.

Snap. The second chop stick broke cleanly in half.

"Could we get off that subject, please?"

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Meanwhile just outside of the window that Hinata and Sasuke were 'hanging out' at Naruto was edging along the roof. In his mind the plan was brilliant. Tie up Sasuke, use a henge to look like him, and talk to Sakura. It was perfect, fool proof plan…or at least it was until Naruto realized that Sasuke was actually talking to someone.

"…are you done with your lunch yet?"

" I just have this last rice ball left. Here throw my box out too." Sasuke said before handing the pale eyed girl his empty box .

"I'll be back in a little bit," the girl assured.

'Crap,' Naruto thought to himself, now he had a 'time limit'.

However the opportunity readily presented itself as Sasuke turned his back. Quickly Naruto pounced, knocked Sasuke out, and dragged him off into the storage closet.

Two minutes later Hinata came back. Noting an empty space where Sasuke once was.

"Sasuke?" Hinata asked aloud.

Meanwhile in the closet:

'Damn Naruto. When I get my hands on him I am going to…' Sasuke growled as he wiggled against the binds, already having the gag removed from his mouth.

Hinata looked around, disappointed that she had been ditched. By chance she happened to glance out the window to see Sasuke down in the courtyard of the academy grounds talking to Sakura and now leaning in to kiss her.

'What…but didn't Sasuke-niikun just say that he disliked her?' Hinata thought, however she couldn't help but think it was well 'cute' that her brother had a crush on someone as nice as Sakura-chan.

Thud thud thunk…

Slowly the young woman turned her head at the loud noise coming from the closet. Hinata gulped nervously, glancing up and down the hallway, flinching as the noises got louder. Hesitantly she crossed over, a shaking hand reaching to the door…and out tumbled a still tied up Sasuke.

Wide eyes blinked.

The boy flinched. Great…

"How…how did you get tied up like that?" the girl asked, sinking on her knees down to his level.

"Naruto." Sasuke growled.

Hinata's eyes widened and moved to open her mouth but Sasuke stopped her.

"Before you ask, no I don't need any help and I have no idea why he tied me up," he snapped, this was turning out to be a crappy day.

Once he had wiggled loose Hinata had told him about his 'clone' talking and attempting to kiss Sakura.

He snorted in response, hands in his pockets while walking.

As if the girl wasn't delusional enough…

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Sitting at the bench, patiently waiting for Sasuke to return Sakura blushed a pretty shade of pink that was just a few shades lighter than her hair.

'Sasuke-kun almost kissed me,' the infatuated girl thought, her face turning darker as she spotted that Sasuke had returned.

Standing up the girl beamed, tickled that Sasuke was shy to actually 'run away' just before they kissed.

"I am glad you're back Sasuke-kun," the pink-haired girl smiled, "Are you ready now?"

Sasuke snorted in response, figuring that if he didn't mention what Naruto had done while using his appearance then this would just blow over.

"We need to leave and meet our sensei…where did Naruto go to anyway?"

'I am going to kick his ass the first chance I get,' Sasuke thought to himself, still pissed off at the fact that he had been caught of guard and that Hinata had seen him pathetically tied up.

Sakura giggled, "Ah now you're just changing the subject…"

Sasuke tried to tune her out, however a few words did manage to catch his attention.

"well I guess that Naruto is the way he is because he doesn't have any parents. I mean my mom and dad wouldn't let me get away with even half of the stuff he does."

Sasuke froze, his fists clenching, gaze averted from the pink haired girl.

He didn't have parents and he had turned out just fine thank you very much!

And Hinata, her family gave her away and she wasn't half as grating on his nerves as this girl was.

It wasn't long before Sakura added one more straw that broke the camel's back, "He's so lucky. All alone with no parents on his case…"

An image of his mother lying on the floor, blood pooled around her, his father being slit open from stomach to neck. Of the little Hyuuga girl who cried for days on end because her father had abandoned her among strangers.

"You're annoying," Sasuke said between gritted teeth, his dark eyes glaring at the now silent Sakura.

"I…" Sakura began, becoming flustered by embarrassment yet Sasuke walked on before she could speak up.

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Itachi was actually surprised to see that Hinata was the first one back home that evening.

"Where's Sasuke at?"

The girl shrugged while slipping off her shoes, "Ah I think his team meeting still hasn't ended yet…" there was a sudden thud of angry footsteps coming up the rickety rail staircase and then stop in front of the door.

Accustomed to these rare, yet enraged, fits of temper Hinata quickly got out of the doorway just a second before it roughly opened.

Itachi raised an eyebrow part apathy mixed with just the barest hints of amusement, "Bad day Sasuke?"

"The worst," Sasuke began, kicking off his shoes rather than taking them off properly, "Stupid teammates, a tardy sensei, and we have a survival exercise tomorrow morning…"

"Oh I almost forgot," Itachi casually interrupted, "what is behind all of these rumors I've been hearing concerning you making out with some guy in class?"

Sasuke's frame tensed, "That…was…a…accident," the boy ground out.

An almost-not-there smirk curled on Itachi's lips, "From what I heard it was no 'accident'."

"Yeah well you heard wrong then!"

Sasuke stormed off to his room, slamming the door causing Hinata to flinch.

"Sasuke has been trying to avoid that subject all day," the girl muttered softly.

"Ah." Itachi replied. He would have to remember that for future sibling taunting later on.

Hinata frowned thoughtfully as she milled about the kitchen. She would have to make it up for Sasuke by fixing his favorite dinner…

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…or not

"I can't eat any of it," the dark haired boy said

"Why?" Hinata asked, clearly disappointed that her effort to 'cheer up' Sasuke was now a failure.

"Orders…from my sensei, we can't eat dinner or breakfast."

"Hmm, so it's 'that' test then." Itachi considered.

"You know what he has in mind?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi shrugged, "I might."

"…"

"…"

"Well? Are you going to tell me?"

Itachi thoughtfully took a bit of beef on his chopstick and ate it right in front of Sasuke's face, subtlety taunting him, "No, why should I? You will find out what is going on come morning."

Sasuke muttered something under his breath, other than that dinner passed him by unnoticed.

Later that same evening Sasuke, bored of being holed up in his own room, came back to the living room to see Hinata struggling with a length of bandages that she was trying to wrap around her arm that had several long scratches, looked like animal claw markings.

"When did you get those?" Sasuke asked suddenly, causing the girl to give a small squeak of surprise before turning to face him.

"Um," Hinata began her face turning red as her lavender hued eyes turned to the ground, "Kurenai-sensei wanted to test our capabilities s-since it was our first day together as a team. Akamaru, Kiba-kun's puppy, scratched me a little when I had to spar against them."

'Tch, she's making a mess of things.' Sasuke realized as he saw the length of bandage was too loosely tied and would be more of a hindrance than a help.

"Give me that," he demanded, reaching over for the bandage.

Hinata's blush turned darker, she was trying to do this by herself, but apparently even this mundane task required assistance.

"…I am sorr…"

"Stop saying 'sorry'." Sasuke gripped while pulling on the length of bandage before properly winding and tying it around her 'wounded' arm.

"B-but I am such a burden. I can't do anything right and I…"

"You're not a burden." Sasuke spoke up, "You're," he paused when she looked up at him with a slightly hopeful and expectant expression.

"You're useful…sometimes," Sasuke finished weakly head lowered as he tried to hide the fact that his own pale face had tinges of color.

Standing just at the entrance of the hallway Itachi watched the exchange with mild interest.

So he was right about two things.

One: for 'suggesting' to Iruka to place them on two separate teams. Itachi had noticed for months now that Sasuke was trying to impress Hinata with various feats of prowess and she would predictably be sincerely 'wowed' by whatever ability he chose to show off.

Sasuke craved praise and attention even if he didn't realize it. So having someone who openly admired and was close to him on the same team as him would only lead to disaster. Sasuke would most likely end up doing something flashy-stupid in order to impress Hinata, which in turn would get himself hurt or risk a mission just to make a good impression on the timid girl. And Hinata would grow, not into a better shinobi but, into a dependent one since she would relay on Sasuke to 'protect' her. So it was best to keep them on separate teams and have them grow apart somewhat.

And secondly:

His brother cherished what Itachi found to be cumbersome. So his future plans for Sasuke and the furthering of his own ambitions would have a mode of transport in the form of the girl. As of the moment, Hinata was the one thing Sasuke valued and unconsciously treasured.

So yes, she would fit into the scheme of things quite nicely.

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Notes: Uh-oh…a plotting Itachi! What could this all mean? …Eh you'll find out later –dodges rotten fruits and veggies- Sorry if this chapter was mostly 'plot' as in barely any fluff or funny but I promise to make up for it in the up coming side chapter kay .


	10. Side Chapter: The Search for Icha Icha 1

Hitsuzen

Notes; Here's the side chapter that I've been promising since chapter eight. Just a short fluffy-funny bit so I hope that you will enjoy it, and if you like this I might do more side chapters in the future.

Side Notation: This takes place a few weeks before the events in chapter eight takes place. Also note that this chapter is chock full of weird crack-ish humor. So if you don't like crack humor then you might want to skim over this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Post It' notes! Well actually I do…just a small stack…I just don't have legal rights to them.

Side Chapter:

Mission: Get Itachi-niisan a Birthday Present

As with most important dates, it was circled in bright red marker ink. A bold reminder that this day was somehow significant or important; however as with most reminders, such a string on the finger, or a brightly colored Post It note, the meaning behind the 'circled' numerical was utterly lost on the curious pair of pale eyes.

What was so important about June 9 again?

She thought, mused, and wracked her brain about what was so important about today that she would circle it…

"Oh!" Hinata uttered suddenly.

Sasuke, who was nibbling on a apple at the kitchen table, turned his head, thinking that the sudden exclamation meant that his klutz of a 'sister' had cut herself while chopping vegetables…again. Since there was no blood or kitchen knife present, Sasuke breathed a momentary sigh of relief. Yes Hinata was a good cook but more often than not, the poor girl had to suffer for her culinary works since she was rather clumsy.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked, noting the look of worry that crossed over the young girl's face.

"Today is Itachi-niisan's birthday." Hinata began.

Sasuke shrugged before taking another bite of the apple. Once a mouthful had been swallowed, he glanced back up to the girl whom was pulling off the apron.

"I don't see why you're so worried. Just bake him a cake…or better yet by some dangos. That will keep him happy." Sasuke said, shuddering slightly at the thought of eating cake…or dangos for that matter.

Poor Sasuke just didn't understand the joy of glucose, sugar, or –gasp- chocolate… and everyone wonders why he's so moody all the time.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand:

"But he's turning eighteen. That should count toward something more than a cake." Hinata said.

"Besides he's been taking care of us since we were little, so I think that we need to get Itachi-niisan something special for his birthday."

At this Sasuke took another crunchy bite of the apple, refraining from saying that they could get Itachi a 'life'. Seriously though the Jounin seemed to be out on missions more often then he was home and even when he was home, Itachi just read those orange colored books.

As if thinking along the same lines as her middle brother Hinata got an idea.

"Sasuke, you know those books niisan likes to read?"

"…what about them?"

"Maybe we should see if they have a new volume out and buy it for him."

He shrugged, "Sure why not."

There was a pause, with Hinata looking expectantly at Sasuke, who had his mouth open to take yet another bite.

"Oh…so you want to go now and look for one of those books?"

Hinata nodded, "Today is his birthday and even after we buy a book for him I still need to wrap it before Itachi-niisan comes home tonight."

Standing up Sasuke finished off the last bit of his apple and followed Hinata to the hall, both of them quickly slipping on their shoes.

"Wait, how do you know what volumes he has and which ones he doesn't?" Sasuke inquired.

"Well I do clean his room from time to time," Hinata began, "usually it's not very messy but he does tend to leave those books in the strangest places. So I end up putting them back on the bookshelf where they belong so…" Hinata paused quietly counting off the volumes of Icha Icha she had seen in Itachi's possession.

"…You know, he's actually missing volume one. He has volumes two through six but not the first one." the girl realized, "Why don't we buy him that one instead?"

That sounded like a good plan so they went with that, so it was off to the Batcave…I mean the local bookstore.

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"There, you see! He's right there…no no don't look now he'll see us!"

"Tell me again why we're here?" one of the five girls asked aloud only to be 'shh'ed by the other members of the Sasuke fan club.

"Because we saw Sasuke-kun come in here," the first one said while three of the other four swooned.

The fifth girl, who apparently was new in town, didn't get it. So it was a guy with dark eyes and dark hair that spiked up- which she thought resembled a duck bottom but kept it to herself since 'new girl' just wanted to make friends- big deal!

"Ah he's picking up a book…I wonder what it is?" fan girl #2 mused aloud.

"Who cares what book it is, one of us is going to buy it the second he puts it down," fan girl #3 said.

"…Why?" asked girl #5.

"So that it can go into the Sasuke shrine!" girl #1 and apparently ring leader of the Fan Girl Five said.

…

"You actually have a shrine dedicated to a guy who can't even comb his hair right?"

A collective of four pairs of eyes glared at her.

"If thou can not appreciate the God that is Sasuke than doom on you, so be gone from our sight infidel!" the fan girl leader screamed.

"Fine I didn't want to join your stupid club anyway!" girl number #5 said as she walked out of the bookshop.

Fan girl number four looked on in pity at the 'nonbeliever', "Poor Mary-Sue she would have made an excellent candidate too."

"Hey hey girls, he's putting the book down and…oh no."

"What?"

"The White-eyed witch is with him," the leader snarled, scratching her well manicured press-on nails against the wooden bookcase, leaving claw marks.

A collective catty-hiss arose from the four fan girls.

She's always hanging all over him like some sort of parasite," #3 said in a haughty tone.

"That and she managed to slip away that one time we tried to cut her long hair." #2 piped up.

"Oh she just makes me so angry that I…"

"Sasuke-niikun," the 'white eyed witch' also known as Hinata began, causing the fan girls to quickly duck behind a bookcase while the girl tugged on the Sasuke's sleeve.

"S-she's…she's touching him!" #2 sputtered in disbelief.

"…and he's letting her!" #3 and #4 said together.

"That's it," #1 said stomping her foot, "I will not put up with this any longer! We shall devise and evil scheme to bring down the White-eyed Witch one and for all."

At that statement there were some sinister sounding giggles-hisses as the girls plotted as to how they would be rid of Hinata.

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Putting down the book Sasuke looked at the one tugging on his shirt sleeve, white eyes staring up at him.

"I can't find any of those orange books anywhere in this store."

"Did you check some of the back aisles?" Sasuke asked to which the girl nodded.

"Hai, but I still couldn't find anything that resembles niisan's books at home."

"Alright, we'll go ask the cashier and see if they have some in stock." Sasuke said as he took her hand, without a thought, leading Hinata to the front, unaware that at least two members of the fan girl squad had passed out in shock.

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Narrowed gray eyes stared out from behind thick glasses.

"…You two want to buy what?"

Hinata, who was just barely able to peer over the edge of the tall bookstore counter looked up with pale eyes looking nervous as she quietly repeated, "I-Icha Icha volume one…please sir?" she asked.

A gray right eyebrow twitched in annoyance, kids these days.

"No. That isn't a book for a child like you to read."

"But it isn't for me sir, it's for niisan, for his eighteenth birthday." Hinata said.

"I am sorry but no. I can't sell it to you and besides even if you were old enough do you have any idea how 'rare' volume one of the Icha Icha series is?"

Two blank stares, one white the other jet black, looked at the book store owner before both Sasuke and Hinata shook their heads.

The book store keeper cleared his throat, "Yes well…it's very rare and very expensive, not that it matters though since I can't sell it to minors. So run along now shoo. Go home and bake him a cake or something."

"See, I told you my idea was better," Sasuke said once they left the store.

Hinata frowned, looking at her sandals, "But I really want to get that Icha Icha book for niisan."

"He'll be fine without it Hinata, let's just go home…" Sasuke began, but his voice trialed off when Hinata wandered away to another book store.

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Two hours, twenty book shops, and one shady merchant later…

"I don't understand it," Hinata began, after they had been so rudely escorted out of the twenty-first bookshop, "what's so bad about this book that they can't sell it to us?" Hinata asked.

"How should I know," Sasuke asked, for a moment the two walking in silence until he suddenly got an idea.

"Maybe it's a book full of powerful jutsu."

Hinata's eyes widened, "Maybe…but still it's a rather funny name for a book about jutsu."

Still going with the 'powerful-jutsu-don't-try-this-at-home-kiddies-jutsu- Sasuke continued, "No it makes sense actually, maybe Icha Icha is actually a code title. Because if it said on the cover 'Book of Badass' jutsu then everybody would want to buy it. Then it would be worthless since everyone would know how to do the techniques inside of it, see it makes sense."

"…Wow, you're right that could be why no one is selling it to us." Hinata realized.

"So now that we've figured out why no one is letting us buy that book…can we go home now?" Sasuke asked…he did not beg or plea…but asked. Uchiha's are too proud to beg.

Hinata thoughtfully bit her bottom lip, pondering but then…lo and behold she saw yet another bookshop.

"Let's check this store next," she said.

Sasuke sighed shaking his head in exasperation before following Hinata.

All the while Sasuke couldn't help wondering why Konoha had so many bookstores and only two restaurants: the ramen bar and the barbeque place.

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…the quest for the book shall continue…just not now. If you guys liked this so far than I'll add more side chapters later on but for now this is it, so I hoped it was enjoyable at least. Later


	11. Side Chapter: Search for Icha Icha 2

Hitsuzen

Notes: Back by popular demand, part two of the side chapter.

Side Chapter Part Two:

Mission: Get Itachi-niisan a Birthday Present

It was a well known fact that Uchiha Sasuke was no dummy. He made top marks at the academy. He was a quick learner and, most of the time, could think on his feet.

Which is why he knew from the beginning that this 'place' him and Hinata were standing outside of now was trouble: well that and the Kitty Kat Bar and Lounge, with the picture of a top-heavy and scantily cladded woman depicted on the billboard above the establishment was a pretty big tip off to anyone but the most innocently-oblivious.

Unfortunately…Hinata just happened to oblivious…well and innocent but right now more oblivious.

So Sasuke being the 'kind' and 'loving' brother that he was herded Hinata away from evil by roughly yanking on the back of her shirt.

Turning her head Hinata stared bemusedly at her middle 'sibling', "Sasuke-niikun?"

"We shouldn't go in there," the dark haired boy said.

"…why?" Hinata asked.

_Insert flashback here… oh wait you missed it! Oh no wait…sorry I missed counted here's the actual flashback:_

_Itachi and Sasuke were accompanying their father on one of his diplomatic visits with one of the more minor clans of Konoha- well aside from the Uchiha clan every other clan seemed 'minor' or at least to the Uchiha it seemed that way-_

_Sasuke, age six and cute as a button, glanced up to see a sign with a busty and flirtatious looking woman. Dark eyes narrowed as the young boy tugged on the sleeve of his father's robes._

_Looking down the Head of the Uchiha clan tried to see what his younger son wanted._

"_Outo-san what is that place?" Sasuke asked, pointing to the building that had the rather provocative sign in front of it._

_His father snorted, "Never you mind Sasuke. That place is for 'bad people', so don't ever let me catch you going into one of those places understood?"_

_Sasuke thought for a moment but nodded, "Okay," he said before walking along side his father._

_Itachi however lingered behind a few steps and looked around and moved towards the building…that is until his shirt collar was grabbed and dragged by his father's grasp away from the 'bad place'._

_End flashback…no really we can go back to the story now…yay:_

"Just…because, it's a" Sasuke halted, not really sure why it was a 'bad place', just that it was.

Hinata frowned, trying to wiggle free of Sasuke's grasp on her shirt, "But that last bookstore owner said that if we wanted the book so badly then we should ask the author of the Icha Icha series for a copy…and this is where he said that the writer can be found."

Sasuke reluctantly released the squirming girl, "Hinata let's give up on getting that book. Bake Itachi a cake, make a cute card, and he'll be happy…well at least as 'happy' as he can be." Sasuke muttered the last part, honestly wondering if Itachi could be 'happy' about anything.

Hinata turned her head, "No, we've come this far and we're getting that book," she said, determined not to give up in their 'quest'.

With that the girl squared her shoulders and marched in through the front door, an uncertain- yet innately curious- Sasuke following close behind.

A minute or two passed before both children were tossed out.

"Read the sign kids! No minors allowed!" the owner snapped.

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"…now what do we do?"

"Hmm, you know here's an idea so crazy it just might work," Sasuke began, "we…go…home." He didn't like being out in the open air for long periods of time-and no it wasn't because his skin was so pale that he was allergic to direct sunlight- because the longer he was out and about the more chance that give for 'fan girls' to latch onto him.

Funny, they seemed rather quiet and subdued today…but then again he and Hinata had yet to run into any…

"That evil temptress, she's trying to corrupt Sasuke-kun!" the head fan girl wailed as she saw Hinata and Sasuke standing out in front of a brothel-bar- apparently Sasuke, Hinata, and Naruto were the only kids of Genin age who were clueless about sex whereas everyone else had a little bit too much of an education-

"Don't faint on us!" fan girl #3 said as she tried to prop their leader upright.

"B-but she's just…such an immoral creature!" the fan girl leader said, "Luring our beloved and pure Sasuke-kun into such a vile place!"

…Never mind that Hinata didn't even know the place was 'bad' until Sasuke told her…or that the fan girls seemed to be aware of what exactly that place was whereas as Sasuke and Hinata were clueless.

"Don't worry, we'll get it!" fan girl #3 and #4 piped up.

"Right we'll expose her for the ugly charlatan that she is! #2 piped up.

The leader blinked wide eyes getting a bit teary at the devotion, "You girls…sniffle are the best."

A brief group hug later and they were back to plotting; however they were not the only ones.

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"…That's a stupid idea."

Hinata sighed, "It will work,"

"No it wouldn't! No one would be dumb enough to fall for that."

"…well then what do you suggest? Besides going home and forgetting about this," Hinata said before Sasuke could say that once more.

Scowling Sasuke moodily kicked at a small pebble, which bounced along and just barely missed hitting the sandaled feet of two adults whom were slipping inside the building…a second…and they weren't kicked out.

Sasuke smirked to himself.

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The owner of the brothel quirked a dark eyebrow as he saw nearly identical copies of the last two customers, one man and one woman, enter. But then again after his tenth shot of sake he began to see double of everything.

Still he would have to scold that girl later about keeping her balance while walking in high heels.

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"I can't believe this actually worked…oops!" Hinata whispered, only to exclaim as she nearly tripped over the high-heeled shoes her henged-form wore.

"Careful, we got in but we still have to find that writer." Sasuke's disguise grumbled, trying to hold Hinata steady as she regained her balance.

His face turned hints of reddish-pink upon seeing how well 'bouncy' the girl-turned-older woman in disguise- top half was.

However the questioned remained…how could they find this supposed toad hermit?

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"Be a dear and pour me another shot will you kitten?"

The woman in response giggled, eagerly pouring a liberious amount of clear liquid into Jiraiya's formerly empty glass, to which the generous, if lecherous, old man slipped her another handful of coins.

"Jiraiya-koi is so thoughtful," the woman who served the drink purred, causing a snicker to come from the white-haired man.

On the left, and feeling rather left out- on the money that is not the lovin- the brunette huffed before pleading to the rich and generous hentai book author.

"Moi, Jiraiya-san," she began, shrugging shoulders just enough that the already low cut slit of her dress slinked down even further, "You've been ignoring me all afternoon!"

He chuckled again, "Sorry, sorry, you girls are so deamanding though," he crooned, tickling the pouting and abandoned girl under the chin to which earned him a sweetly-faked smile.

"Um…excuse me sir…" a soft voice spoke up causing all three heads to turn.

Even though he already had two girls with him the old Sannin smirked as he saw a third lingering around the end bench he was lounging at.

"Don't be shy miss," he said with a wink, "There's more than enough of me to go around."

Hinata's henge form couldn't help but cringe; this guy just gave her the creeps!

"Um actually, I was wondering if maybe you could tell me where I might find Jiraiya-sama. I was told that I could find him here, you see I have a question about one of his books…"

That got his attention. If there was anything that Jiraiya loved as equally a women and sake it was recognition-praise for his works.

"Ah, then you're more than welcomed then before to take a seat miss and let's see if I can't help solve this inquiry for you hmm?"

The girls on either side of him exchanged glares and glared at the intruder who shyly, and very reluctantly, sat down on the edge of the bench.

"Now, what is that you wanted to ask me?"

Hinata timidly bit her lip. She wasn't good at holding henges for long periods of time and Sasuke refused to ask Jiraiya-sama about the book so it was up to her to spit out the question fast and get the book even quicker.

"Um well you see. I've been looking all day for volume one of your book series to give my brother and well…I've come up empty handed, but someone told me that you might have a copy…"

"Tut tut, say no more miss," Jiraiya said as he pulled a suitcase, seemingly from no where, and placed it on the table. A few latches were clicked open and inside the suitcase were at least five copies of volume one of the Icha Icha series, in mint condition none the less!

"Oh thank you sir I…" Hinata began as she reached for one only to jerk back as Jiraiya snapped the case shut.

"Now you honestly didn't think that I would give one of the copies away for free now did you miss?" he asked with a small grin.

"Oh no, of course not," Hinata said as she pulled out a twenty…to which Jiraiya laughed.

"I am sorry but…these books, "he tapped the suitcase, "are more expensive than that."

Hinata's adult henge formed frowned, "B-but…it's all I have with me sir."

"Well…" Jiraiya was eyeing those luscious breasts of the grown woman- Hinata in disguise- " we might be able to work out," his wandering hand moved towards the young woman, "some sort of arrangement hmm?" he grasped at her shirt only to have his hand being rudely smacked away.

"Now miss don't play hard to get," he said with a grin, however said grin was quickly wiped off his smug face when a punch was delivered to it.

"Come on Hinata. Let's get out of here," Sasuke said as he grasped his sister's hand, both of them transforming back into their original selves with a puff of smoke.

Just before they darted out of the building Hinata grabbed the suitcase that held the five copies of the first volume.

"You! You two get back here!" an angry Jiraiya said, hoping over the table to chase down the brats.

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Hinata and Sasuke managed to duck into an alley way, where Hinata quickly pocketed on of the volumes, placing it inside her jacket while discarding the rest, along with the twenty dollar bill inside the suitcase.

"Hurry up before he catches us," Sasuke hissed while Hinata hurriedly tried to secure the book inside her jacket…just as a shadow was cast over the two.

Both children turned their heads to see the person behind the shadow clear his throat and push a pair of black sunglasses to the bridge of his nose.

"Well well, what do we have here? The youngest Uchiha running amuck in a dark alleyway…with a young girl."

"It's not what you think!" Sasuke protested.

However…Ebisu was not known for being well willing to listen to reasoning that was not his own.

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The latch to the front door was unhitched as Itachi stared at Sasuke and Hinata, both whom were being held by the collars of their shirts by Ebisu.

"Uchiha Itachi…I take it that these two hoodlums are yours?"

There was a slight pause before Itachi admitted, "Unfortunately…yes."

At that admission Sasuke and Hinata were none too gently dropped on the doorstep.

"I caught these two in an alleyway just moments after they had run out of a brothel."

Dark eyes narrowed, causing both Hinata and Sasuke to cringe, "Oh…really? Now why would they go in there I wonder?"

Ebisu 'hmph'ed while adjusting his sunglasses, "One could only speculate. I am however…concerned that you are not rearing them properly if you allow them to wander the streets and into shady places unattended and…"

"Ebisu-san, if I may inquire something of you…"

"Oh by all means feel free to."

"…Why were you near the brothel in the first place?"

"I…"

"And if you were…not at said brothel then how can you be certain that my siblings are guilty of a crime involving said brothel…or that they had even entered the building in the first place?"

"You see it…"

"So unless, you yourself **were** inside the brothel than you can not prove, nor disprove, "Itachi stressed as he noted the relieved expressions on Hinata and Sasuke's faces, "that they were there in the first place now can you?"

Yes Itachi knew his way around the Jedi mind trick…or rather it was called the Uchiha mind trick since this author would like to stick inside the fandom thank you very much.

Ebisu stared turning red with embarrassment, however he tried to hide it behind a weak cough, "Well…just don't see that it won't happen again Uchiha!" he said only to be abruptly cut off as Itachi slammed the door to the apartment in Ebisu's face.

"Oh don't worry I'll make sure that it won't happen again," Itachi said, making both boy and girl cringe.

However at the last moment Hinata remembered the purpose behind their little escapade.

"Oh Itachi-niisan…"

"…yes?"

"Happy Birthday!" the girl beamed, pulling out the book and handing it to the elder Uchiha brother.

Dark eyes first looked at the cover, orange, then the spine, 1 encircled. Good condition. No tears, dints, or residue. He flipped through the pages which fluttered with never-been-read ease, no dog ear marks or creases.

A perfectly, mint condition volume 1 of the Icha Icha series, a book which had gone out of print as of nearly a decade ago…this was a book of legend and would have cost a small fortune.

Which of course begged the question: "How did you two get this?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke and Hinata cringed in middle of them creeping to the hallway; both had been trying to sneak away while Itachi was busy admiring his present.

Black Uchiha eyes narrowed, "Hinata, I'll deal with you later so go to your room for the moment. Sasuke…come here."

Hinata gave a pleading glance and a mouthed 'sorry' before she slipped away to her room while Sasuke lingered between the living room and hallway.

"Come closer."

Sasuke shuffled a few steps forward.

"Closer."

Sasuke stubbornly shook his head, causing Itachi to sigh heavily.

"I am not going to poke you Sasuke. I just want an explanation about what happened today."

"…so you're not mad?" Sasuke asked.

Rather than answering the question Itachi beckoned for his younger brother to come closer.

Once Sasuke was close enough Itachi whacked him upside the head with the book.

"Owww!" Sasuke moaned, gingerly rubbing the goose-egg of a lump that formed from the force of the book.

"What have I told you about keeping Hinata-chan out of trouble?"

"I am sorry! It…it was all her idea. She wanted to get you that book even though I tried to get her to come home."

"…and that lead to the brothel how?"

Sasuke spilled the whole story…eventually.

Upon hearing Sasuke's version of the events Itachi nodded solemnly, "Very well. I'll talk with Hinata then decided on what to do about this mess."

Sasuke nodded and turned to head to his room but Itachi stopped him.

"One more thing Sasuke…"

"Yeah?"

"If Hinata were to say…jump off a cliff would you follow her?"

Sasuke frowned, that was a really odd-not to mention stupid- question but he shrugged, "I guess that would have to depend what was at the bottom of that cliff."

'Idiot,' Itachi thought as his brother walked on to his room.

The boy really would do just about anything for her. Even go as far to get himself into trouble by following along with Hinata's crazy schemes.

Itachi looked at the book. Oh well at least her hairbrained scheme did serve some good.

…Kakashi was going to be rather envious that now Itachi's collection was completed and the Copy Cat's wasn't.

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Mission end:

Objective? Accomplished.

Casualties: None –save for what is left of Ebisu's dignity…but hey who cares about that!

So Mission: Get a birthday present for Itachi-niisan…was completed successfully.

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Notes: Whew, finally finished! Yeah I know that it was a bit rushed and there were some plot holes; but I still hope that it was somewhat enjoyable. And I'll be back to regular chapters come next update!

Side note: Yes I know that I left out the fan girls mostly in this chapter, don't worry though you'll see them again…eventually.


	12. Chapter 10

Hitsuzen

Notes: Finally back to the plot! Wait…this fic had plot? –doubles back to pervious chapters and summery- Oh yeah that's right there is plot here! Thank you again everyone for your reviews, so onward to the next chapter!

Chapter Ten:

To Error is Sasuke

A single dark eye stared as Kakashi tilted his head to one side.

Hands on her hips Kurenai wondered whether she should be 'mad' or…yeah she was mad, not because something had been done to her personally; but rather this was an offence to every female shinobi.

Hinata's face was burning red and her mouth tried to form words, most likely protest but was too embarrassed to express them verbally.

And Sasuke…was trying to pull his hand out of her shirt or rather detangle himself from Hinata's jacket zipper which had caught on his shirt sleeve and refused to let go.

"…this isn't what it looks like," would be the boy's last words if Kurenai had any say in it.

Red eyes narrowed stared at the youngest Uchiha a raven colored eyebrow arched, "Oh really Uchiha? Because right now it looks like you are groping my student," the crimson gaze turned to Kakashi now, "If I didn't know any better I would think that your 'sensei' has been teaching you more than ninjutsu."

Refraining from accusing in turn, because Hinata wasn't acting half as 'offended' as her sensei was, Kakashi stared back with his uncovered eye, however went back to curiously gawking to Sasuke's peculiar predicament involving said girl.

Sasuke was sorely tempted to take his free hand and smack himself in the head.

This honestly couldn't get any worse…

"Yeah! We've got the second flag!" Naruto yelled, Sakura close behind him, both of them skidding to a halt when they saw that Sasuke had his hand inside Hinata's jacket.

…Correction it just got worse.

Green eyes rolled back in Sakura's head as the poor girl passed out, whereas Naruto's jaw dropped in disbelief.

As if it wasn't mortifying enough at that moment the rest of Team 8 came barreling in, well Kiba and Akamaru 'barreled' Shino just walked- he was above theatrical and flashy entrances after all-

"You damn cheater!" the Inuzuka snarled, Akamaru readily barking in response as Kiba dove at Naruto to get back the 'ill gotten' flag, however stopped when he spotted Sasuke with…well you already get the picture.

"What the hell?"

Shino saw the spectacle as well, yet refrained from explicates, preferring to raise a questioning eye brow to his female teammate, who in turn 'discovered' yet another shade of pink.

"Would everyone quit staring and cut us loose already?" Sasuke asked between clenched teeth, he was getting tired at them being stared at like him and Hinata were some sort of circus freaks.

Kakashi casually pulled out a kunai and cut the threads of Sasuke's shirt that had snagged in Hinata's jacket finally freeing the two teens from their importune entanglement. And Sasuke displayed the 'first' flag that he had originally been after in the first place, but again since Hinata had 'hidden' it inside her jacket and he had gotten stuck…yeah the awkwardness.

Meaning that Team 7 had won against Team 8 for the second time in their little 'Capture the scroll-which-looks-like-a-flag-since-both-sensei-were-too-cheap-to-get-a-real-scroll' game.

However everyone, save for Sakura who was still unconscious, was still staring at Sasuke and Hinata.

"…it wasn't my fault," Sasuke grumbled, "Hinata put the flag down her shirt so…Naruto close your mouth you look like a fish…I had to reach in and…grab it," Sasuke finished just as a very irate female sensei stood over him, arms cross haughtily over her chest.

Oh yeah…he was in trouble. Big time.

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Itachi could feel a headache coming on the moment Kurenai appeared at the doorstep of the apartment with Hinata and Sasuke with her. The female Jounin had a very unpleasant look on her face.

Itachi gave a single stare to Sasuke and Hinata that told the 'children' that they'd better make a quick getaway now before he found out just what one, or both of them, had done **now **. Really before Hinata ever came into the picture Sasuke was a good boy, rarely got into trouble, and was somewhat quiet.

But the second that girl came into their lives either Sasuke was getting Hinata into trouble, she was getting him into trouble by accident, or they both were causing some sort of mischief. It was almost like her introduction meant that the someone upstairs now had free reign over his life and decided 'hey why don't be make Itachi's decade by causing him utter misery?'

But no wait Sasuke had the 'emo-eveyrone-including-God-hates-me' market cornered so Itachi had to improvise with some other creative metaphor. Unable to find one Itachi quietly offered Kureani inside, never mind that she had all but let herself in.

"Uchiha Itachi, you already know how I feel about Hinata's…well living arrangements with you and your younger brother."

He absently nodded, "Yes, you feel that it is unfit, improper, and problematic for her to stay with us. I understood the first time this subject was brought up."

Crimson eyes looked up as hands distractedly smoothed down invisible wrinkles on her dress, "Have you reconsidered then? I wouldn't mind taking Hinata in if it's too much for you to handle both of them, and…it might be best. Hinata needs a female figure in her life as today's incident proved."

Ah, they were moving out of the small talk and into the heart of today's problem.

"What exactly happened?" Itachi asked, wanting to get this over and done with. He resented the fact that everyone wanted to advise, tell, and force their opinions as to 'how' he should raise his two siblings.

Kurenai indulged herself with a small sigh, "Team 7 and Team 8 were having a joint training exercise. The purpose being that there were two flags, one given to one of the three team mates. Team 7 had already won the first round…and apparently Kiba 'suggested' that Hinata be given the flag for safe keeping and either he told her to stuff it down her shirt or she decided it on her own. But as it was Sasuke found out that Hinata had the flag, took after her and well…went to retrieve the flag and his hand got stuck…"

It took Itachi a moment to shake off that brief mental image, and another second to school his expression into one of detachment. He had to admit…that did sound rather amusing.

"So essentially, my little brother felt up Hinata?"

Kurenai nearly choked at how deadpanned that statement sounded, "Well if you want to be blunt than yes. He did."

"Ah."

Kurenai stared at the apathetic and older Uchiha, "That's all you have to say 'ah'?"

"How do you want me to react?" Itachi said there was a hint of cynical cryptic tone; but it was gone when he spoke again, "If you want to take Hinata with you, by all means, one less mouth to feed. However, I suggest that you try and get her away from Sasuke first, he is rather possessive…"

"Don't you mean 'protective'?" Kurenai correct skeptically.

He smirked, "Take it to mean as you like. I am merely saying that Sasuke might put up a bit of a fight if you demanded that Hinata stayed with you. They have grown up together and so far they haven't been forced apart."

Itachi's dark eyes closed for a moment, recalling as to how close both children had clung to each other in the first few months following the horrific massacre.

For a few weeks it was hard to see one without the other in his or her shadow. They leaned on each other for support and now that they were both recovering and maturing, if things worked in his favor then perhaps…

"Itachi…Itachi," Kurenai snapped. God these 'genius types' seemed to space out a lot.

Opening his onyx eyes once more Itachi stared at the intrusive woman, "On second thought. No Hinata will stay here."

Kurenai thoughtfully bit her bottom lip. This wasn't going well at all.

"Itachi be reasonable. It's unhealthy for Hinata to grow up with just the two of you in her life. She needs a woman…"

"A mother you mean?" Itachi cut in callously.

"Not exactly," Kurenai said, her eyes narrowed, showing that she didn't not appreciate being 'cut off', "Not to be cliché but Hinata's not a little girl anymore. She's growing into a young woman and…"

" So you're afraid that as she becomes older Sasuke or myself will be perverse with her, or be apathetic to her 'plight' of being a woman."

"That's not what I mean!" Kurenai snapped, the 'discussion' was steadily escalating to an argument or at least on her part it was.

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Dark eyes narrowly stared at the person lingering at the ajared door.

"Either come in or go into your own room; but don't just stand around and hover like a ghost Hinata."

The girl flinched a little before taking in a deep breath and venturing inside her middle brother's room, closing the door behind her before folding her knees to sit on the carpeted floor.

"I…"

"Don't say 'sorry'," Sasuke said sourly, "I keep telling you that it gets old."

Hinata moved to speak again, or rather apologize, only to catch herself, clamping her lips in a sheepish smile.

Laying back on his bed Sasuke glanced over to the girl. She always got him into trouble, even when it wasn't' his fault.

'It's her fault. She stuffed the flag down her shirt. It was her stupid jacket that caught my shirt.' Sasuke mentally grumbled.

"Sasuke-niikun…can you at least talk to me?" said guilty party asked.

He moved to moodily snap at her, yet at the same time he 'tamed' down what he originally wanted to say, "Next time Hinata don't put things down your shirt."

Hinata blinked before nodding, "Um okay….that wasn't very smart was it?"

Despite himself Sasuke found the corners of his mouth twitching into a smirk, "No it wasn't. It was along the lines of something that idiot Naruto would do."

For a moment Hinata's expression faltered, "Do you really dislike Naruto that much Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugged, rolling over from laying on his back to on his stomach so that he could see Hinata without having to crane his neck awkwardly, "He's just…too happy. And an idiot. He's a perpetually happy idiot who has a big mouth."

In turn Hinata restlessly shifted on her knees, but otherwise didn't say anything for a moment or two, "Ano sa…Naruto isn't quite as 'happy' as you might think."

Another smirk, only it was accompanied by a snort, "What's with you? Speaking up for him like you are in love with him or something."

Hinata shocked him by averting her eyes, her face turning a brilliant shade of red. All of a sudden it hit him.

"Hinata?"

"Um, I need to get dinner started," the girl said, rising up to her feet and left the room.

'She **does** like Naruto,' Sasuke thought to himself. The one question that came to his mind was a simple 'Why?'

Naruto was, as stated over and over again, an utter idiot whose entire vocabulary included Hokage, Sakura, or ramen.

What in the world did Hinata see in someone like that?

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"Is she gone?"

Itachi looked up from the open book, which was for once not Icha Icha- ha!, to see the timid girl lingering in the hallway.

"Hai, Kurenai-san left about five minutes ago. A bit peeved at me I suppose, but thankfully I don't care too much about her either."

Hinata smiled, "So Itachi-niisan isn't interested in asking my sensei out?"

The teenager frowned, "No. Besides even if I was, she's spoken for. But then again I should stop paying attention to the local gossip," a page turned, "because if I believed everything I heard I would be instructing Sasuke to be nice and have "safe" gay sex with that blond fox boy…"

Hinata turned her head, "Blond what?"

"Hmm?" Itachi returned, he was aware of the intentional slip of the tongue, but it wasn't too noticeable to do any perminate damage, perhaps trigger a reaction but nothing else.

"…never mind," the girl mumbled before turning to kitchen to start dinner.

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Despite being a the number one rookie of his year, and a supposed genius of his blood line…well next to his elder brother that is Sasuke still couldn't wrap his mind around Naruto, his 'sister' and her supposed attraction to his annoying teammate.

'…maybe she has a things for blonds. Kind of like a fetish,' Sasuke mused to himself while fiddling with his chopsticks rather than eating, half wondering what he would look like with peroxide dyed hair only to cringe in distaste at the mental picture.

Uchihas were not meant to be blonds…it was against the law of nature itself.

Itachi and Hinata were mildly entertained by Sasuke through out dinner. It was obvious that the boy was thinking about something that was bothering him…yet neither the girl or elder brother said anything because they knew Sasuke well enough to know that Sasuke wouldn't want to talk about it.

Still Hinata was a bit concerned, she opened her mouth to speak only to be subtly 'poked' by Itachi's chopstick the elder shaking his head.

Meanwhile Sasuke's mind found itself back at this afternoon's incident…or at least in a roundabout way he was thinking about that rather embarrassing incident.

'…it's still her fault. Stupid, placing a flag underneath her shirt as if that would have stopped me from getting it. Sure…she's a girl…and a guy shouldn't touch a girl's brea…um there.'

He reached over to take a drink of water, why his mouth was dry all of sudden he would never know.

'…though it did feel kind of nice. Soft round…and…wait no I shouldn't be thinking about it like that!' Sasuke realized only to take in a too big gulp of water as his dark eyes found themselves staring at the exact 'spot' his hand had been stuck at earlier.

"Um Itachi, he's choking."

"So I see," Itachi dully responded as they watched Sasuke spazing out, his face turning blue from a lack of oxygen, since he swallowed the water down the wrong way.

"…shouldn't we do something?" Hinata asked sounding worried.

"Why? This is fun." Itachi said, watching Sasuke change red, blue…oh now purple.

"He'll choke to death if we don't help him." Hinata said, sounding nearing hysterics.

Itachi barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes, his fun spoiled the older brother used the heel of his right palm to knock Sasuke in the back, causing the younger brother to finally take in a big gulp of air.

"Welcome back to the land of the living little brother," Itachi mercilessly prodded.

Sasuke's dark eyes narrowed, not at Itachi but Hinata…or rather her chest.

Yeah, those two 'lumps' were to blame. Damn them…

His view was disrupted as Hinata leaned over the table, well not so much as 'interrupted' as Hinata brought the dreaded round things closer to further distract him.

"Sasuke-niikun are you okay?" Hinata asked, leaning over, pressing her right palm underneath the almost spike like protrusion of dark bangs.

He nodded at first, but then quickly shook his head to get away from Hinata. Swiftly Sasuke stood up, "I am finished," bolting away from the table and to his room.

Left behind Hinata blinked thoughtfully, turning to Itachi, who merely shrugged in response before getting up to move his plate to the sink.

"I have a mission to accomplish tonight. You two…try to stay out of trouble while I am away understand?"

"Hai," Hinata said simply, already picking up both hers and Sasuke's plates to complete her tasks of dishes washing.

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Staring up at the ceiling of his room Sasuke scowled accusingly at the white plaster. Why did it have to be 'white'? Why couldn't he have black ceiling and walls. Not a speck of white to remind him of her or what had happened both that afternoon and at the table.

Rolling over in bed Sasuke still placed blame on Hinata's breasts.

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"…I mean why waste our time chasing down stupid cats for stupid fat ladies…"

"Naruto," the pink haired ground out as she roughly elbowed the blond in the stomach to keep him from offending their latest client who was at the moment forking out a great deal of money in payment for having Team 7 finding her cat…again.

For like the tenth time this week.

Now Sasuke would be the first to admit that pulling weeds, carrying groceries, painting fences, and hunting down domestic house pets were not quite his cup of tea at least he had enough sense not to complain to the Hokage- a.k.a the leader-ruler of the nin of Konoha- about this annoyance.

Oh he would rant to his siblings the moment he got home; but come on Naruto was an utter moron to complain to their 'boss' and expect a pay raise or a better mission in this case.

After much thought, more like five minutes of listening to Naruto whine and complain, the Hokage finally spoke up.

"Alright Naruto…you want a challenge fine. I will assign your team on a C-ranked escort mission."

Sasuke's right eyebrow gave an annoyed tic, 'Are you serious? He whines like a little brat and the Hokage just decides to give us a better mission?' the Uchiha thought to himself…perhaps he should giving whining a try…nah he was better than to resort to childish tactics…

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"But I **want** to take the tomatoes."

Hinata stared back, hands on her hips, obviously not backing down, "Sasuke you won't have time to eat the tomatoes. Besides since your team is going on a long mission they could get bruised, squished, or end up rotting inside your backpack."

"Tch," the Uchiha boy responded in annoyance, before snatching one to nibble on for the moment only to have Hinata snatch it back.

"…and I need these tomatoes for dinner tonight."

"You only need two. It's just you and Itachi who will be here for dinner…" Sasuke's voice trailed off for a moment, his grip on the tomato growing slack enough as he realized.

Not that he was 'clingy' or anything but this mission to Wave country would be the first time, in a long time, that he had been away from home let alone away from his brother…and 'sister'.

"Yes well…fine," Hinata said finally caving in, handing the red fruit-which-thinks-it's-a-veggie-back to Sasuke.

However rather than gloating over his 'victory' Sasuke stared at the tomato, thinking carefully, "You haven't even asked about the mission."

Hinata bit her bottom lip, "You didn't say anything so I thought that it was some 'big secret'."

Sasuke casually tossed the tomato from hand to hand, careful not to drop it on the floor, "It's nothing special," he started however there was a hint of conceited bragging in his tone, "Our team's just escorting a old man from here back to his home in Wave Country. It shouldn't be too exciting since it's just a C-rank. You should have heard Naruto crowing though, he acted like he got us an A-rank assassination job rather than an escort mission."

Hinata's cheeks pinked in color before she cleared her throat, "It's something different though isn't it?" she smiled softly, "You have been wanting to do different missions rather than just running errands around village right?"

He took a bite of the tomato, "I guess, but there's a big difference between C-rank and A-rank missions, so again it's nice to get outside Konoha for awhile, but it's not the same league as what…"

"As what Itachi-niisan does?"

Sasuke shook his head, "Nope, not by a long shot."

Hinata's hands nervously fisted onto the stray book she was putting away on the small book case in the living room, "I am not sure that I would want you doing missions like that either."

Sasuke looked up from his half-eaten tomato to Hinata, whose face colored again but with a different shade due to a different form of embarrassment.

"Ah…not that I am saying that you couldn't do A-rank missions. I know that you could…it's just that. I worry about Itachi-niisan…I don't want to worry about you as well."

Sasuke stared at her as if thinking seriously about what she said, however the 'mood' was ruined when he playfully tugged on her pinned up hair.

"Idiot. I keep telling you that it's just a C-ranked mission. I am not going out to Wave country to get myself 'killed'."

"Ow ow ow…Sasuke-niikun stop," Hinata winced as the light hair pulling continued.

He grinned, "Do you give in then?"

"I give, I give, just let go please it really hurts."

Sasuke released his grasp on her hair, "Wimp."

Hinata glanced back with narrowed pale eyes, "Devil."

"Crybaby,"

"Jerk…" Hinata began, her voice fading as the front door was unlocked and Itachi entered, his ANBU uniform rolled up and mostly covered by a large jacket.

"Welcome back,"

"Hn," Itachi replied. He had made an it a priority to go to Kakashi or some other former ANBU's member's house to clean off and get rid of the most obvious stains on his clothing after each mission rather than coming home immediately and again risking Hinata seeing him in such a state.

"Looks like it's just going to be me and you Itachi-niisan since Sasuke's going to Wave country for a mission."

That got the distracted brother's attention.

Sasuke stared back at Itachi's inquiring glare, "It's just a C-rank. I don't see why she's making such a big deal over it."

"Are you packed already?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke pointed back to his packed bag which rested at next to the door and his shoes.

Itachi effortlessly jabbed, "Then get going. No sense making your team wait up on you just for you to say goodbye," after that Itachi slinked off to his room.

Sasuke gritted his teeth for a moment, "He never lets up on me."

Hinata withheld whatever she wanted to say that Itachi was just being tough on him because their elder brother thought that Sasuke should be stronger than what he is now. Saying something like that would cause Sasuke to leave in a huff and since Hinata had a sort of favor to ask of her middle brother that wouldn't go well.

Despite his complain Sasuke moved to the doorway, sliding on his sandals and shouldering the pack, "I am going then bye Hinat…"

"Um Sasuke… could you do me a small favor?"

"That depends, what kind of favor is it?" Sasuke asked.

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Blue eyes narrowly stared at the road up ahead, "He's late."

Green eyes from the girl walking just a few steps ahead stared back, "Duh Naruto, sensei is always at least an hour late for everything."

"I meant Sasuke-teme."

The pink-haired girl gritted her teeth, fist clenched, trying to count to ten…twenty…going through the breathing exercise her anger management counselor had walked her through…

"It can't be too much to ask for him to be on time. I did after all get us this mission so he should be grateful…"

"The only reason we have this mission is because you can't keep your mouth shut dobe."

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, instantly gravitating towards the dark haired boy causing Naruto to scowl.

'Bastard…he's has enough girls after him as it is and he has to steal Sakura too…and why the hell is he glaring at me like that?' Naruto thought.

Sasuke stared at the blond. Last night he had been confused as to why Hinata 'might' be attracted to someone as loud and obnoxious as Naruto however Hinata's request before he left home had all but confirmed it.

'_Look after Naruto-kun please. I know that you don't like him…but I…I don't want to see him get hurt'_

What had 'hurt' though he would never admit it in a thousand years, was that Hinata had added, almost as if it was an after thought…_ 'Oh and you take care as well Sasuke.'_

Did that mean that he was second place when it came to Naruto in terms of Hinata's perspective?

Sasuke's eyes narrowed once more at the blond, almost as if he was willing the Sharingan to finally surface and burn a hole in the other boy's skull…okay so the Sharingan couldn't smoke holes in people's heads but at that moment Sasuke almost wished that it could.

He wasn't about to take second place to anyone's first.

He was a Uchiha after all and the Uchiha clan is second to no one. Let alone blond-haired losers.

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Notes: Whew, believe it or not I've been updating a storm and the weekend has just barely started. Anyway I hope that this chapter was enjoyable.

I found it a bit difficult to write Sasuke as curious/slight appreciative of Hinata's…uh assets without his character coming off as a complete pervert cause I mean come on what straight teenage guy doesn't think about girls, breasts, and the like at some point neh?

…But then again I wouldn't know personally since…well I am not a guy but anywho.


	13. Chapter 11

Hitsuzen

Notes: Sqee . Thank you so much everyone for your wonderful reviews, I honestly can't get enough of them. Anyway here's the next chapter, now I am going to warn in advance that while I will skim over a lot of the Wave arc- only touching on the highlights for the most part because frankly the Wave arc and the Chunnin exam is over done in fan fiction. Yes I know both arcs are important but come on most of us has seen it in the anime-manga before so it get kind of boring to type and read- this might take two chapters to complete if so please be patient with me kay?

Side Note: to juliagulia1017 and madteen66 oh trust me I would so die like a hundred times over –and yes I know that is utterly impossible, just humor me- if someone animated this storyline or –gasp- made it into a fan manga even just a few pages –squeals and 'dies' at the mere thought of it-

The sad thing is that I know several people who can are kick ass artists who **could** actually make one of my dreams come true; but they will not touch the Naruto fandom with a ten foot pole let alone draw an entire volume of manga-styled pictures just for my puny fic.

And I can't even draw proper stick figures so yeah it will have to remain just a fic. Anyway enough of my rambles onward to fic-dom!

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Chapter Eleven:

It was a test of skill, endurance, and courage.

Dark eyes stared across to a narrowed blue gaze. 'Weapons' clasped in their right hands the boy stared each other down, daring the other to chicken out now before the competition really got underway.

Yet when neither backed down from the unspoken challenge the 'battle' commenced.

Sakura looked on, her gaze a mixture that was part fascination part horror as Naruto and Sasuke both quickly dug into the meager meal with such gusto that it was rather scary.

Bits of rice, meat, and vegetables all but flew as the two boys turned animals dug in until finally both raised their bowls.

"I am done! More please!"

There was a second of blinking eyes from the other partakers of the meal just before both Naruto and Sasuke turned green and turned away to puke.

A pale pink eyebrow twitched as Sakura and 'Inner Sakura' came to a mutual agreement.

'Boys are idiots.'

'…yeah but at least Sasuke-kun's a 'cute' idiot' Sakura admitted, both girl and inner personality swooning in unison.

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'Okay…let's not try that ever again,' Sasuke reminded himself later, cringing at the bad taste still left in his mouth. Needless to say that was not Sasuke's finest moment.

'He started it.' Sasuke blamed, glaring at the orange back of Naruto as both boys had headed back to their scared trees after eating lunch.

'And what kind of ninja wears orange anyway?'

Juvenile perhaps but hey you try spending a week with a porn reading sensei, a pink haired admirer…and of course Mister Golden boy-oh-let me see-how-many-ways-I-can-put-my-ass-into-mortal-danger, and be freakin happy about it!

So yeah Sasuke felt that he _deserved _at least one guilt-free sulking session thank you very much.

Seriously when Sasuke had made his 'promise' to Hinata he hadn't expected to really live up to it. However this formerly C-rank mission was bumped up to an A-rank one after they had been attacked by a total of three Mist nin. The first two had been painfully easy to defeat and he could have handled it by himself without Kakashi-sensei's help…if Naruto and Sakura hadn't gotten in the way.

Said blond has gotten cut, poisoned from said cut, and did a lot of stupid things around a dangerous S-rank Mist nin criminal.

'…well if it wasn't for Naruto, you wouldn't have been able to catch Zabuza off guard with the shuriken.'

Sasuke had a like-hate relationship with his moral conscience, which for some reason often sounded much like Hinata's voice. At the moment the little winged angel on his shoulder quickly took flight before Sasuke gave into his sadistic impulse of plucking feathers out of her wings.

Left alone to sulk, well alone save for Naruto for company, Sasuke drew out a kunai, backing up from his tree just enough to get a running start, once he was far enough away Sasuke took off running, feet connecting and sticking to the surface of the tree as he raced up the rough bark in a vertical sprint.

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Panting breathes came from her parted lips as wide pale eyes stared up, just as Hinata barely manage to roll out of the way as another strike came from above. Closing her eyes tightly, shielding them first with her hands Hinata could distinctly recall saying 'stop' just as the shadow loomed above.

"You've had enough already?" Itachi questioned.

Hinata meekly shook her head, slowly lowering her hands. To say that this importune 'spar' had taken her by surprise would be an understatement. In the past only Sasuke and Itachi sparred against one another.

However after seven days of watching her 'sulk', as Itachi called it, apparently had caused the elder brother to take matters in his own hands in terms of distracting Hinata from melancholy and impatient waiting.

Still dogging blows and blocking in defense did little to relieve her worry.

'Shouldn't they be back by now? What is something went wrong? What if…'

"Epp!" Hinata squeaked as Itachi kicked her feet from underneath the moment she had gotten up.

"Second mistake in the past hour Hinata-chan. First the lack of weapon on hands and now letting your guard down in front of your opponent. That's not good form at all…and" the girl gasped just a thrown shruiken just barely grazed her right earlobe, missing from cutting it by a mere hair strand length.

"…and such carelessness could greatly risk your safety or even the mission."

"I…I," she began, gulping, not use to Itachi being this close or even him holding a weapon even closer to her. Finally he lowered the kunai, pocketing it and thankfully placing a respectable distance between them.

"We'll start over. This time at least 'try' to pay attention."

Hinata nodded, noting the slight red-ish hue that his eyes had taken.

'The Sharingan,' she realized before forming the seals to summon her own bloodline. If Itachi felt that this fight-spar warranted the use of a blood limit then she should respect that condition in a similar fashion.

The veins of the Byakugan crept around the edges of her eyes, stretching and forming knots as chakra fed and empowered her vision. Still, for all her practice and the re-discovery of her own blood limit, Hinata knew that there was still quite a way to go. For example, she could only see the faintest hint of the chakra points she had to close on Itachi.

And the 'dots' blurred when the body went into motion so that Hinata, who had been distracted by the 'chakra dots' had just barely enough time to duck out of the way of a stab from a weapon.

"…better. But you need to focus more." Itachi instructed even as his free fist swung around to give an uppercut to the chin. Quickly Hinata blocked the hand just short of it making contact.

'He's slowing down on purpose,' the girl realized with a forming knot of dread.

Itachi could, and would, move so much quicker when it was him and Sasuke fighting one another.

He was slowing down, halting his movement just enough to give her a fighting chance and she still couldn't catch up.

Perceptive as always Itachi could sense the undertow of resentment; still he carried on as if nothing was wrong, as if he didn't know that Hinata knew he was giving her an advantage.

Normally he couldn't care less about her progress. Hinata was a Genin therefore she was not his responsibility to train. Sasuke however was the only other Uchiha aside himself.

The Sharingan needed more than one 'heir' in order for it to survive which is why he fought against Sasuke, and trained Sasuke, yet so far no results had made themselves evident.

On the other hand, whether Sasuke ever activated the Sharingan or not, Itachi was always thinking one step ahead.

Sasuke was showing a preference toward the girl he was currently sparing against.

Now while this juvenile attraction, crush, puppy love, or whatnot may or may not last Itachi knew that Sasuke would not appreciate Hinata if he saw her as an inferior, hence the sudden interest in her training.

Hinata was adapt in areas of the domestic, she had activated her blood limit before Sasuke, and despite the handicap of knowing less about her own abilities than Sasuke knew of his potential abilities Hinata was trying to train herself without the instruction of another Byakugan user.

But all of that wouldn't matter if Sasuke found her to be a burden.

Sasuke was the only reason she stayed with them and the moment his younger brother lost interest in Hinata…well then Kurenai could keep her and had offered as much.

The girl fell again on her knees this time, exhausted and breathless from the work out he had put her through.

Staring toward the setting sun, crimson mixing with shades of violet, pink, and blue hues offset by brilliant golden-orange, Itachi then looked back to the girl.

"We can head back now."

Hinata stubbornly shook her head, shakily getting back up on her feet, "No. I…I want to try again."

A slender dark brow arched, "That isn't very wise. You are obviously tired…"

Another shake of her head. This was some sort of test and Hinata didn't want to give up just in case there was just a little bit of fight left in her.

"No I'm fine really," Hinata said as she started to stand up only to wobble a little bit and wow…why was the ground spinning.

Itachi reached out, his arm the only thing keeping her from crashing back under gravity and heady dizziness vice grip which would have forced her back to the ground.

"You are not 'fine' Hinata. You are exhausted and perhaps hungry since we have been training for at least three hours."

Hinata blinked. Had it really been that long? She honestly had time to look at a wrist watch, what with dogging and combating back kunai, shuriken, fists, kicks, and just about anything else Itachi could have thrown at her.

However more than the strikes against her what Itachi said next shook Hinata up.

"Why don't we go out and get dinner hmm?"

"I have things already set out for me to make dinner…"

"I'm in the mood for okonomiyaki."

"But I…don't have any ingredient to make okonomiyaki," Hinata said weakly.

Itachi smirked ever so slightly, picking up some of the scattered weapons, "Then it's settled. We will go out to eat tonight."

Hinata frowned slightly as she wondered if it an Uchiha trait to be both arrogant and willfully stubborn?

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Pulling back Sasuke silently tallied up the markings he nicked into the tree. Almost a full week and he was steadily getting close to the top. However…he glanced back a sour frown fitted on his mouth…Naruto was starting to catch up.

As much as he hated to admit Sasuke was starting to realize that he was doing something wrong. If his form was correct and he was applying the right amount of chakra then he should have been finished days ago rather than being neck and neck with 'dobe'.

If there was one thing Sasuke despised it was swallowing his pride, it always tasted bitter and often formed a lump in his throat, still he wanted to get this over and done with.

"Hey Naruto…"

The blond, who was about to jump to make his next mark, stared back at him.

Blue eyes narrowed as Naruto crossed arms over his chest in a mocking gesture to Sasuke's usual standing posture, "What do you want?"

Averting dark eyes, man this was embarrassing, Sasuke cleared his throat before asking, "What kind of tips did Sakura give you a few days ago?" he grumbled, god this was 'killing' him.

For a moment Naruto looked dumbfounded but then a sly mischievous grin appeared on his face, "Do you really want to know?" Naruto teased.

'No duh, I wouldn't have asked in the first place if I didn't want to know!' Sasuke thought to himself however his thoughts were interrupted when Naruto chirped smugly.

"Well…I am not going to tell you!" the blond-haired boy blurted out with an annoying laugh just before he ran up the tree.

'That…' Sasuke was reduced to mental cursing Naruto just as he pulled out the kunai, 'Okay you want to play games Naruto. Well, I am not about to lose to you.'

And with that it was back up the tree, one more marker dragged along the rough surface of bark. One marker higher and closer to reaching the top.

Yet despite his efforts Naruto was just one step behind him and at some point was actually ahead.

Despite growing exhaustion, and the stretching shadows of sunset Sasuke still scaled the tree, trying to stick longer, and more hesitant to mark because each inch gained meant that he was just a little bit further ahead than Naruto.

Finally he had reached the top. A smug smirk curled on his lips Sasuke looked down at the rest of the forest and he had almost expected to see a small blond 'dot', however his hopes were dashed when Naruto's loud voice carried over.

"Oi Sasuke!" Naruto said with a grin since he was at the top of his tree as well.

'…we tied…a damn tie!' Sasuke realized, referring to the little contest that he had been holding against the oblivious blond.

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Sitting in the bench across from her Itachi watched the young female Genin gingerly pick at the grilled shrimp and vegetable, choosing her favorites before piling the fillings on top of her okonomiyaki pancake. Even now the girl looked distracted.

This wasn't good.

Itachi had assumed that having them on separate teams would somewhat cut the close bond Hinata had formed with Sasuke. Hinata wouldn't become strong enough to stand on her own if she became this distracted and moody every time Sasuke was away on a mission.

And if Sasuke was reacting in a similar fashion…

"Itachi-niisan…are you not hungry?" Hinata asked softly causing the elder 'sibling' to turn his thoughts outwardly to the pale eyed girl who had the chopsticks extended so that he could gather the fillings for his oknomiyaki off the grill in the middle of the table-booth.

'She's breeding stock. Nothing more,' Itachi reminded himself even as he took the chopsticks from said girl, picking out his choice of foods.

Marriage and offspring: those were the sole reason Hinata was accepted into the Uchiha clan.

As his father once said, the possibilities of mixing Uchiha blood with one who held the Byakugan, from where the Sharingan first emerged from, could bring about almost limitless possibilities. From the fantastical- more like nearly impossible- of creating some sort of hybrid of both bloodlines, to something as mundane as an offspring or several in fact gaining one ability or the other.

And while curious as to what results such a union would produce Itachi wasn't about the volunteer himself to take part in such an experiment. And what with the rest of the clan dead…Sasuke was the default candidate.

For Itachi personally, he didn't feel one way or another towards Hinata.

Female.

Male.

It didn't matter.

Affection was cumbersome or so Itachi firmly believed. And it would be…'unfair' for him to follow through with the motions of marriage if it was only going to be a miserable and pointless affair for her and him respectively.

Sasuke on the other hand: had already showed distaste for elder siblings apathetic toward others. Outright rebelling actually by already loathing one teammate and being vocal about it and his more subtle affection to the very girl whom he was seating directly across from.

But what Itachi couldn't comprehend was how Sasuke treated Hinata. By all right she was the interloper. She couldn't share in his pain of losing an entire family, the whole clan actually, and having nothing. Yet it was to Hinata that the boy clung to, and vice versa, during those first horrible weeks of realization and mourning.

And now, just when the elder brother was trying to sever or at least weaken those dependent bounds, Itachi was realizing just how 'strongly' the two were connected.

Too close. Too soon. Especially since Hinata apparently held affection for another.

And for the life of him Itachi couldn't figure out if Hinata was honestly oblivious to all the attention Sasuke lavished on her or if she was willfully blind in favor for someone else.

He had to know, but at the same the subject itself had to be carefully tip-toed around since it was uncertain as to what extent Hinata cared for her middle 'sibling'.

"You miss him." Itachi stated sagely, catching the rather melancholy look Hinata gave outside the window their booth was situated next to.

Embarrassed at being caught in the act of spacing out the girl's cheeks pinked, "…Hai. I…not that Itachi-niisan doesn't make for good company, but I can…"

"You can talk with Sasuke easier than you can converse with me…correct?" Itachi baited.

Hinata hesitantly nodded, weakly picking at her food rather than actually eating it before finally placing her utensils aside.

"I have a feeling that…" she gulped, "that something bad has happened. Sasuke and his team have been gone for over a week. I know that Wave country is pretty far, but…" Hinata's voice trailed off into a voiceless whisper, her gaze lowered to her plate.

She didn't want to look Itachi in the eye and admit that she was worried at the same time. Wouldn't saying that she was 'worried' for Sasuke's safety imply that she didn't have faith in his abilities?

Wouldn't admitting such a weakness in trust be just like admitting that she doubted Itachi as well?

Sasuke was already having a difficult time because Itachi-niisan believed that he should be stronger by now. Hinata was well aware that Itachi was considered a genius, not just of the Uchiha bloodline but as a whole he was gifted at ninjutsu and it showed.

All the same, Hinata felt uncomfortable in his company. It was almost like Itachi looked down at her and Sasuke because they couldn't obtain his level of skill…and, in her case, probably never would be able to catch up to him.

Wide pale eyes blinked as Hinata felt a light pressure of something poking the center of her forehead. Looking, slightly cross-eyed at the slender chopstick Hinata then turned her gaze to Itachi, who added empathize to his words by prodding her once more.

"You are better than I then. I tend to overestimate Sasuke's abilities. You on the other hand are at least aware of where his faults are. It's good that you worry Hinata-chan, our profession warrants worry. I would however advise you not to let Sasuke know that you do worry; otherwise he will hesitate to take on better missions and that will deter him from advancing."

'In other words, I could end up holding him back.' Hinata realized with a rush of guilt.

Noting the sudden change in her expression Itachi took great pains to assure her, in his own cryptic and backhanded manner.

"I think…that I could grow accustomed to tolerating someone like you," he said before stealing a piece of shrimp right off of Hinata's plate and eating it.

Utterly confused, Hinata blinked before turning her attention back to her meal, minus one shrimp of course.

Itachi-niisan was still a rather 'odd' person after all.

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Dark eyes stared up at the wooden walls and thatched ceiling. For the past eight days he had been staring at the same four walls and ceiling and it was steadily driving him crazy. Turning on his side Sasuke looked to the bolted door. Aside from the tree climbing training the past week had been relatively calm, a sharp contrast to the battle that had occurred just on the outskirts of Konoha and the second fight, that time against an S-ranked criminal nin.

Sasuke just barely withheld a shudder. That guy, he was still out there alive and recovering if what Kakashi-sensei had to say was to be given any credence. Dark onyx eyes closed, trying to force himself to sleep, yet behind those eyes sleep was the farthest thing. Rather his mind skipped over the urge to sleep and went straight for the visual assault of nightmares.

The blood smears on the doors and walls that was proudly and grossly imposed on the walls of the old house. Mother and Father's bodies lying in a congealed pool of blood. A blurry yet faintly familiar face, the sharp blade of a kunai aimed directly above…

A heavy bladed sword aimed right at him, just mere inches from slicing him cleanly in two. The heavy lidded gaze of a murderous man who would stop at nothing to get the job done even if that meant plowing right through him…

Sasuke pulled himself off the sleeping pallet and up to his feet. Sleep wasn't going to come, not when he was so…wound up. Yeah that was the word. Because he wasn't scared. Children become scared. Girls become frightened.

He…he was tense, that was all.

Sasuke's footsteps silently padded across the wooden planks covering the floor as he pulled on his pouch of weapons and slipped sandals on his feet. He was just about to step outside when a slight noise caught his attention. Turning his head Sasuke glanced back to his teammates. Naruto was sprawled out spread eagle, the stupid sleeping cap perched over his blond hair while his constantly open mouth was snoring loudly. And Sakura, was sitting up staring back at him while rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

"Sasuke-kun…?" she questioned aloud.

'Great,' Sasuke thought. He had to think of something quick otherwise she would follow him out. He could handle himself, and whatever the forest could throw at him, but if Sakura went with him that was just one more person to be weary about.

"Go back to sleep Sakura, I am just going outside for a few minutes."

She blinked wide green eyes, "I'll go with you if you want…" he opened the door and lightly closed it just as Sakura finished her offer, "if you want some company."

Once outside Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. Sakura he could tolerate, marginally so, more than Naruto; but to him both teammates were an undo burden that he could have easily done without.

True that Naruto had convinced, more liked whined, to the point that the Hokage offered them a better mission whereas Sasuke would have remained silent and took whatever was given just so that he could save face.

And Sakura…well he obviously couldn't protect his own skin and the old man's at the same time, so while it was grudgingly given she had a purpose as well.

Outside the sky was clear without so much as a cloud in the sky, never mind that for a good portion of the morning and early evening that the entire village was cloaked in heavy fog-like mist. Sasuke had never been one to appreciate nature but he knew that Hinata would most likely babble on about how pretty the starlit sky was, even though she could see the same sky in Konoha.

She talked about such silly pointless things, yet amazingly rarely got on his nerves, whereas Sakura's long winded and detailed explanation about chakra, jutsu and the like might as well have been nails on chalkboard in Sasuke's opinion.

As it was Sasuke felt that he had wasted too much time already by underhand complimenting nature by giving a fleeting glance to the sky, instead he rummaged through his weapons pouch pulling out no less than ten shuriken. Casually he tossed the first into a tree trunk, the weapon marking the tree with a hard 'thunk'. The second, third, fourth, and fifth flew just as effortlessly, however on the sixth Sasuke paused since he could hear footsteps.

He threw the sixth one with only a moment's pause. If it was that Zabazu guy again, he hoped not, or another enemy Sasuke didn't want to give an impression that he was onto them. Rather he waited, listening carefully while still flicking shuriken at the tree. On the last star-pointed weapon was when he stopped, still listening but now waiting for the intruder to show himself.

Small sweat drops formed on Sasuke's brow. If it was Zabazu again, he had no chance of winning that much was assured. He hated to admit it…but it was the horrible truth. He couldn't win against a nin of that caliber…at least not without help hence Naruto and the 'trick' with the large shadow shuriken. And even then the Mist nin wasn't officially 'defeated' and they had been close to losing until…

"Sasuke-kun?"

For once he was relived that it was Sakura. Still to cover up the fact that he had been within inches of attacking her, out to defend himself should the intruder prove to be threatening; Sasuke for the moment pocketed the shuriken.

The pink-haired girl blushed when Sasuke stared right at her. Nervously she bit her bottom lip even while mentally coaching herself to be more firm and assertive of her feelings Sakura couldn't help but shrink under Sasuke's dark gaze.

"Sakura, what are you doing here?"

She forced a weak smile on, "I just thought that you might want some company," she said softly, brushing off an old tree stump to sit on it, yet stopped when Sasuke snipped.

"Well you thought wrong then. Go back and get some sleep."

"Have I done something wrong?" Sakura asked bluntly.

"…no. I just…I'd rather be alone." Sasuke said, wishing that would make his female teammate go away. It didn't…for Sakura still insisted on staying.

"I'll be quiet, I promise. And I can help you keep a look out in case someone else comes."

For a moment Sasuke was close to conceding to the latter reasoning, well that and he really didn't feel like starting an argument just because Sakura stubbornly refused to leave him alone.

Finally he very reluctantly caved, "Alright," he began the girl's eyes lighting up but then quickly died as Sasuke added, "but don't annoy me otherwise I'll walk back and leave you here."

Sakura shrank slightly, 'Sasuke-kun…can be so mean,' she thought. However it was that same mean-aloof streak that always made Sakura want to try harder to get Sasuke to like her. Surely Sasuke would soften up a little bit and be a nicer person if he knew that someone loved him as deeply as she did.

And, this was an opportunity to show Sasuke-kun that she was willing to just about anything for him, even if it was just watching him toss weapons at a tree.

The pink-haired one noted how tense his shoulders were and sometimes Sasuke would miss the tree by a mere inch as if something was bothering him badly enough to throw off his aim.

For a brief moment Sakura entertained the idea that maybe she was distracting him….she shook her head, 'Nah…that can't possibly be it, but if it was. Oh dear God I would just die…well figuratively that is.'

But then reality hit as Sakura recalled what she referred to as the 'Hyuuga Hinata' incident.

Even now Sakura felt faint just thinking about Sasuke handling another girl, who wasn't her!, in such a manner. True that Sasuke kept claiming that it was an accident, and of course being his number one fan Sakura believed him…

'But you've got to admit,' Inner Sakura whispered, 'Hinata is rather um 'blessed' when it comes to the chest department…well compared to us that is.'

Sakura's head lowered. Okay that was a valid point. While Hinata wasn't ridiculously top heavy and often wore jackets to conceal her figure, it was no secret that, so far at least, the Hyuuga had a bigger chest than both her or Ino.

'Look at the bright side. At least Sasuke didn't intentionally grab Hinata's boobs.' Sakura argued with her inner self.

Inner Sakura scoffed, 'Oh sure that's what he wants you to think…face it girly. Bigger breasts get more attention then flat chested broads like us.'

…Great now she was holding arguments with herself. Sakura was seriously thinking about setting up yet another appointment with her therapist next week, however she was interrupted when Sasuke chose to talk to her.

"I don't see how you can be helping me look out for intruders if you're spacing out," he said shortly.

"Oh um…sorry. My mind wandered for a little bit," Sakura said with a nervous giggle, playfully bonking herself upside the head.

Sasuke's dark gaze narrowed. Sasuke wasn't stupid. He knew that Sakura only wanted an excuse to be around him, frankly Sasuke was getting tired of all the attention he received from girls.

None of them knew about his family.

Fewer even knew that he had an older brother, those who did usually took to stalking Itachi as well.

And if all the chocolates he received last Valentines day was any indication even less knew that he despised sweets. Hinata and Itachi seemed to enjoy them though since Sasuke only had to throw out two boxes of sweets rather than the entire twenty plus he had received since both 'siblings' had stashed what they could inside their respective rooms.

And no one…not even his teammate knew that he was scared. There he admitted it. He didn't want to die out here in Mist country, not on his first C-ranked mission, not on his first mission outside of Konoha.

What would have his parents thought if their youngest child, who along with Itachi had sworn vengeance, couldn't even cope with what started out as a simple mission?

Would Itachi mock him for being weak even after death?

Would…Hinata miss him at all…so long as Naruto came back safe and sound?

Sakura, the same girl who had foolishly said that she wished to be 'alone' and without parents, wouldn't be able to understand even half of what was going through his mind.

Hinata wouldn't understand either; but at least she understood boundaries. She knew not to cross the line he drew between her and himself, and only crossed that 'line' if it was necessary.

"Sasuke-kun…um can I ask you something?"

Turning his head dark eyes gazed back at Sakura. There was a moment or two of silence before Sakura asked quietly, and without his prompting, "Do you like someone?"

"…do I like someone?" Sasuke repeated thoughtfully.

_I worry about Itachi-niisan…I don't want to have to worry about you too…_

His fingers curled around the shuriken, just enough to feel the light pressure of blade impressed on the pad of his thumb.

_Look after Naruto-kun please?_

"…Iie. I don't 'like' anyone." Sasuke said bluntly.

"Oh," Sakura said her voice trailing off for the moment even though she still had more to ask.

"About Hinata…"

The shuriken in his grasp nearly slipped, this time Sasuke actually did cut himself on the thumb. The cut stung as blood welled to the surface, despite the slip he shrugged callously, "What about her?"

Sakura took in a deep breath, hands on her crossed knees, "I don't know…you two just seem well rather close."

Sasuke merely responded with 'hn'. It wasn't a well known fact that Hinata actually lived with Sasuke and Itachi. And Sasuke made it a point to keep it that way. The idiots whom had dubbed themselves his 'fan girls' harassed Hinata enough when they were at the Academy without said girls knowing that the Hyuuga actually ate, slept, and lived at the same apartment he did.

"…well?" Sakura pressed lightly, sounding curious.

Sasuke picked up his weapon pouch, no longer in the 'mood' to indulge in Sakura's annoying questions he pulled out the shuriken, dropped them in the pouch, and silently walked on.

Leaving behind the bemused and rather hurt pink-haired girl to stand out in the night air before she followed him back to the bridge builder's house.

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Notes: Bah boring boring plot chapter I know but it has to be written! Anyway I hope that it was enjoyable to some degree, and again I am trying hard not to character bash Naruto and Sakura. I like them as characters…but I like Hinata, Sasuke, Itachi, Kakashi, Kurenai…heck just about the entire Naruto cast I like better than Naruto and Sakura! But they are important to the story –sigh- so I shall press on! Later!


	14. Chapter 12

Hitsuzen

Notes: I am back and man am I glad to be back writing fan fiction- turkey, relatives, and lack of internet does not sit well with me- Anyway, again I'm sorry that the last chapter was dull, hopefully this will make up for what the other one lacked.

Side Note: Um I've just been informed by reviewer ichi that 'niikun' is not a proper suffix of honorable address…so I am going to remove the phrase from this chapter- and will go back and remove it from previous chapters/when I have time to- just so that I using misinformation.

Thank you ichi for pointing that out- just wish that I knew that sooner, would have saved me time going back and re-editing the last chapter, but hey it must be done- and I promise that I will try to avoid using wrong phrases/suffixes ect…

Chapter Twelve

The Ill-Fated Dinner Party

After almost two weeks of being away Sasuke had to admit…it felt good to be home. Now if only he could ditch the three mother hens that were tailing and pecking at him constantly.

"Sasuke-kun are you sure that you're going to be alright walking home by yourself?" the pink-haired 'hen' inquired, her bright green eyes staring right at him as Sasuke readjusted one of the straps to his backpack.

"I think that I can manage getting inside my own apartment Sakura," he replied glumly.

Blue eyes turned to him now, "Sasuke stop being so mean to Sakura-chan! She just wants to make sure that you don't faint…again," Naruto added with a small snicker of gleeful-mischievous amusement.

Dark eyes cut a hard look.

'So I passed out, I did NOT faint I passed out, once during our trip back. That doesn't mean that I need a team of escorts or immediate medical attention for that matter,' Sasuke mentally snapped since he actually felt too exhausted to bite back verbally.

Apparently Kakashi-sensei wasn't kidding about the Sharingan placing a large strain on stamina and chakra since Sasuke had only used it once or twice during the fight against Haku and was still low on his usual energy. Oh and let's not forget that said fight almost 'killed' him to begin with; plus Kakashi ordered that they head out back to Konoha right after the completion of their mission.

So exhaustion coupled with stubborn Uchiha pride equals a momentarily unconscious Sasuke.

Sakura bit her bottom lip, keeping her footfalls up with Sasuke's fast pace, "You know…if I didn't know any better Sasuke-kun I would think that you didn't want us to come to your house."

Sasuke froze in mid step. This wasn't good. If Sakura suspected that something was up…

Naruto brightened the up-to-no-good-grin working overtime, "You're right Sakura. I wonder what could be at Sasuke's house that he doesn't want us to see…"

"I've got to go." Sasuke rudely interrupted, forcing himself to move as quickly as possible, leaving behind two bemused teammates and one sagely curious sensei.

"Well," Kakashi began his stride taking him a few steps ahead of Sakura and Naruto, "what are you two waiting for? Let's follow him."

Sakura and Naruto looked at each other before the blond piped up, "Why?"

Kakashi shrugged, casually flipping to the next page of his open book while still walking at a reasonable pace, "Think of it as a 'get-to-know-your-teammate' exercise."

Both Genin gave their sensei a rather skeptical look, Kakashi however ignored it, walking onward.

After all, this would be the perfect opportunity for him to see if Itachi really did have the first volume of the Icha Icha series or if the Uchiha was just pulling his leg.

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Leaning next to the windowsill, pen poised and ready to write Itachi just happened to glance down at the street to see his younger brother heading home.

Looking at the ball of piece of paper, that he had used to take notes on, Itachi grasped the paper ball and tossed it at the turned head of the female chef.

"Ouch!" Hinata looked at the small paper ball as it bounced off her head and rolled on the floor before looking to the unabashedly guilty party.

Rather than apologizing Itachi said simply, "Sasuke's back."

Honestly he had never seen anyone more as quickly as Hinata did. For within a fraction of a second Hinata had abandoned the makings of dinner and was at the door just as the doorknob turned and it opened.

Sasuke didn't even have a chance to blink. One second he was standing upright and about to walk into the apartment…and within the next second was sprawled out on his back, staring up at the sky, floor beneath him and a pair of pale lavender eyes looming above him.

One word came to mind: "…ouch,"

Hinata smiled sheepishly, "Um sorry Sasuke I didn't mean to land on you."

A strangled sounding gasp caught both of their attention as Sasuke and Hinata turned their heads to see a blanching Sakura and Naruto staring at them with Kakashi bringing up the rear of the trio.

Kakashi cleared his throat, "Are we interrupting something Sasuke?" he asked that familiar 'pervert fox' arch of his visible eyebrow evident.

Without missing a beat Sasuke gave a glare to his sensei that clearly said 'Go to hell you old pervert!' however the stare did little to remove Hinata from his person.

And to a distressed Sakura it looked like Hinata and Sasuke were actually 'comfortable' with their current position since neither had made to move away just yet.

Finally noticing that they were being stared at Hinata had enough decency to pull away from Sasuke and stand up, briefly bowing before the guests.

"Um welcome," Hinata began, her face turning increasing shades of red as her gaze went to Naruto, who didn't notice…of course.

Meanwhile, a little bit put out, Sasuke stood up brushing off his clothes before glaring at the rest of Team 7.

"All of you…go home." Sasuke said shortly, however his words seem to do little to faze Kakashi-sensei who was already poking his masked face around the corner of the open front door.

"But Sasuke-kun," Sakura began thinking for a moment before playing the first turn of the 'blame game'.

"Kakashi-sensei insisted that Naruto and I come over for a little while and…"

"I don't care. Go home, now." Sasuke said only to exclaim as Hinata 'lightly' elbowed past him.

"Sasuke is just kidding. Make yourselves at home." Hinata replied generously, earning her an evil stare from her outraged sibling.

"Don't mind if we do." Kakashi said, already slipping off his shoes onto the mat at the entrance, followed closely by Naruto and Sakura…leaving Sasuke and Hinata at the door.

"You…" Sasuke began, about to say 'traitor'; but stopped when Hinata whispered.

"Please, let them stay for just a few minutes." Hinata begged.

Sasuke looked sourly to the tauntingly orange jacket, muttering under his breath, "What you really mean is 'please let Naruto stay for a few minutes' right?"

Hinata hesitated for just a moment before quickly nodding.

"…fine," Sasuke replied, pretending not to care as he entered the apartment.

However, the cool as a cucumber façade was just that.

'What the hell?! I nearly died Hinata- died as in not breathing- for this guy because YOU asked me to! And now you're letting him, and Sakura, and my teacher have the run of our home!' Sasuke inwardly fumed.

Once inside Sasuke was already thinking of ways of to be rid of the unwanted houseguest; but if he didn't come up with a plan quickly Itachi just might beat him to the punch…or punch Kakashi's lights out, whichever came first.

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"…go away."

"I can understand and respect that the Uchiha clan don't believe in practicing manners, but really Itachi would it 'kill' you just to let me look at it." Kakashi responded.

"No, but I might kill you if you so much as lay a finger on my book."

The gray-haired man snorted in response, clearly not heeding the warning, "That threat stopped working a long time ago."

"Whoever said that it was a threat Hatake?" Itachi said in a silky tone of voice, casually scribbling down notes from one scroll to a blank unfurled scroll.

"Well if I can't touch it…or even see this fabled 'first edition volume one'." Kakashi drawled, "How I do I even know that you have it?"

Itachi looked up from the scroll.

Damn.

Kakashi did have a point there. What was the purpose of owning such a rare book and being unable to brag about…

'No. I know him too well. The second I 'show' him the book Kakashi will swipe it for himself. That book is mine and no one is going to take it from me.' Itachi thought.

Outwardly Itachi glared at the 'copy-cat nin', "If that is all then please take the two brattling and remove them and yourself from my apartment."

"Now Itachi, surely you can't be as heartless as to deny the kids some time to interact. Think of the friendships that could build…"

"Shut up Hatake, we both know that you're only here for the book. And you're starting to sound like Gai so just shut up now before I am forced to inflict bodily harm on you." Itachi said shortly, shuddering slightly.

Kakashi shuddered too.

Yes both 'genius' shinobi were revolted by the mere mention of the 'Proud Green Beast'

The living room was silent for a few more minutes until…

"Please,"

"No."

"…But I won't,"

"No."

"If you would just let me look at…"

"How many times do I have to say it? No! Now go home."

Kakashi waited and was about to start the 'plea' fest once more, until he picked up on the light aroma of home cooking. Looking back to the lounging Uchiha genius Kakashi wondered aloud.

"Itachi are you cooking something?"

"…no."

"Oh good, for a second there I thought that I might have to call in the ANBU squad to remove whatever toxic substance was melting on your stovetop."

Itachi peered peevishly at Kakashi.

"For your information I no longer have a need to cook. Hinata-chan usually cooks for myself and Sasuke."

Catching the casual endearment Kakashi couldn't help stare back in question, "…you call her Hinata-_chan_, Itachi?"

Rather than responding to the question Itachi choose to ignore it; however Kakashi wasn't about to pass this opportunity up. Quietly he snuck away from the living room and into the kitchen.

Meanwhile:

"I know that it's not much, but it's home." Hinata said, feeling rather awkward at having to lead Naruto and Sakura around the three-bedroom apartment.

"What's behind that door?" Naruto asked, reaching for the doorknob until a pale hand swatted it away.

"That's my room." Sasuke said, "And before you ask, 'no you can't go in there," the boy said, actually referring to Naruto's curiosity but in the process 'accidentally' deflating Sakura's hopes as well.

Biting her lower lip Hinata considered in trying convincing Sasuke to be a bit more pleasant to their houseguests; however the young Genin stopped herself upon realizing that dinner was still simmering in the kitchen.

"Excuse me," Hinata said elbowing past Sakura, "I have to finish making dinner."

Now Naruto's ears perked at hearing the words 'dinner'.

"Hey, Sasuke do you think maybe that we could stay for…"

"No."

"But…"

"No."

"…I'm hungry and…"

"I said no dobe!" Sasuke snapped, now so close that narrowed blue and black eyes were glaring.

Unnerved by the tension Sakura quietly slipped away to follow Hinata into the kitchen, yet both girls stopped when they saw Kakashi 'sampling' some of the dinner.

With a plate of yakitori chicken, skewered on a kabob along with some of the veggies, in one hand Kakashi gave a small wave in greeting with the other.

"Um hello," Hinata said meekly, trying to work or rather cook around Sasuke's sensei, lightly 'shooing' Kakashi away from the counter so that she could work.

Silently the Hyuuga girl tailed up the number of kabobs, amount of chicken, the amount of veggies in ratio to the chicken…

"This is good…really good! You should try some Sakura," Naruto said, taking the extra kabob that Kakashi had offered to the blond, reaching over Hinata's left shoulder to pass it over to the pink haired girl.

Hinata turned her head, accidentally bumping into Naruto, backing up she knocked into Kakashi-sensei who in turned caused Sakura to yelp as he stepped on her foot…and Sasuke was standing on the outer rim of the small, now almost micro what with all the people, of the kitchen watching the domino like reaction.

"…I…if it's not too much trouble," Hinata began quietly, above Naruto and Sakura shouting at each other as to who was at fault and above Kakashi's praise/critics of the yakitori.

"Would you mind moving…" Hinata started again, becoming more than a little bit frustrated since if she couldn't reach the pan of chicken on the stove in time it would burn.

"If I could…" she strained, reached, and lunged but to no avail since her kitchen was crowded with three and a half more people than it could contain.

Finally the girl momentarily lost it.

"….everyone out! All of you, out of my kitchen, now!" Hinata snapped her hand reaching for the nearest fry pan.

Everyone's head turned to openly gawk at the rather indignant looking Hyuuga. Noticing that everyone was staring at her, oh and the fact that she was holding a large iron fry pan like a deadly weapon, Hinata's face turned a embarrassed shade of red before she cleared her throat.

"Um…sorry, could everyone please move out of the kitchen so that I can finish cooking dinner?" she asked, more like her sweet and quiet self…so all was right with the world once more.

Still Team 7 now knew that there are some things you just should not do: one of said forbidden things was to get between Hinata and her culinary instruments.

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Sitting down at the small, now rather crowded, card table Itachi glared at the interlopers who had still to leave.

"Hinata,"

Peering around the edge of the kitchen the girl curiously looked back to Itachi, who in turn was staring down a nonchalant Kakashi.

"…would you mind telling me why there is a scarecrow sitting at our table?"

"Umm," Hinata began sheepishly. She had felt guilty about yelling at Sasuke's teammates and sensei and to make amends had invited them over for dinner.

"She invited us to stay. Now be a good weasel Itachi and eat before your dinner gets cold." Kakashi teased.

Naruto couldn't help but snicker-snort, "Weasel. That's funny," however it quickly ceased being 'funny' when Itachi gave him a death-worthy glare.

Sakura casually nibbled a piece of chicken off her kabob, all the while mentally comparing Sasuke to his elder brother.

Let's face it people… Sakura thought that Sasuke was cute, sure all the girls thought that. But, secretly Sakura hoped that Sasuke would later grow up to look just a little bit like Itachi as well.

'It's the ponytail,' Inner Sakura agreed, 'Sasuke-kun would look so sexy with a ponytail.'

Meanwhile Sasuke was less than pleased with the sitting arrangement, but well you'll find out about it later just because…I am evil like that.

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Notes: Silly and somewhat pointless chapter I know, but hey I figured you guys could use a small break from 'boring plot' chapters like the last one. Anyway, I promise to update again real soon kay? Later!


	15. Chapter 13

Hitsuzen

Notes: Wow! Thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews…and for being so patient with my spastic updates. Oh by the by this chapter will be leading to certain events (Chunnin exam saga and so on) so expect the action to pick up rather quickly.

Oh and those who asked when Neji- and possibility other Hyuuga- will re-appear I'll I have to say is that you shall see Neji soon…as for other Hyuuga members…eh not sure about that just yet. We'll see.

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Chapter Thirteen

Unwelcome Houseguests and Not So Secret Blood Limits

As of tonight Uchiha Sasuke had become the number one enemy of fragile wooden chopsticks. There was all but a pile of the broken utensils littering the right side of his plate.

Why was our angsty hero so pissed off you ask?

Well to answer that we need to take a little itty bitty trip back in time:

_Cue flashback to…thirty minutes in the past:_

"…_what do you think you're doing?"_

_The blond-hair covered head glanced up to see Sasuke standing over his chair, blue eyes narrowed in response as Naruto shifted slightly in the chair._

"_Well Sakura-chan said that she was going to sit there," Naruto began, his thumb pointing to the chair to his right, so I figured that I would sit next to her."_

_Sasuke shrugged in response. Okay, he could live with that answer, so long as…_

_The chair to Naruto's left gave a small squeak of protest as Hinata pull it just a few scant inches from the table and sat down._

…_Alright then. Sasuke could just take the chair right next to Hinata and…_

_Itachi quickly slid into Sasuke's spot, without even asking of course. _

…_Well at least he could tolerate his brother…but then Kakashi sat down…leaving only one spot available._

_Sakura tried to stifle a small self-satisfied giggle as Sasuke had no choice but to sit at her side. Quietly the girl scooted her chair closer. Raising an eyebrow Sasuke tried ignoring her, all the while glaring at a cringing-sheepish Hinata who had the **gall** to not only sit next to his "rival" but enjoy it as well._

_Sasuke blinked, 'Rival?' he questioned himself, dark eyes looking angrily at Naruto._

'_As if that moron will ever be my rival,' Sasuke thought with a decisive snort._

_Just as the meal began there was some light banter exchanged between Hinata and Sakura, the men- actually two men and two boys- were too busy eating at the start to engage in small talk._

_However it wasn't long before Naruto was talking loudly and cracking jokes, mostly to get Sakura's attention focused on him. However, the blond's "plan" backfired in more ways in one. For while Sakura sneered, 'hmph'ed' and outright ignored Naruto, Hinata seemed utterly fascinated with everything the loud boy had to say._

_Now back to the present:_

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'Stupid perverted sensei,' a chopstick speared straight through a piece of chicken.

'Idiotic pink-haired twit,' Sasuke furiously nibbled at the bit of white meat.

'…dead last…blond…moron,' he thought staring directly at Naruto.

Sensing the death glare Naruto turned his gaze to Sasuke, all but bristling.

"What are you staring at teme?" he snarled only to have Sakura knock him upside the noggin.

"Naruto! Don't use such language at the table!" the pink-haired one snapped.

"But Sakura-chan te…uh Sasuke started it!"

Hinata glanced over to her middle sibling, frowning seriously at the implication that Sasuke had willfully provoked the annoying blond.

Scowling in response Sasuke reached over to grasp one of the tomatoes that Hinata had specially set as a side dish just for him…only to instantly recoil his hand back as Naruto had reached over at the same time to grasp the red fruit/veggie/thing.

"…hands off Naruto. These are mine."

Pulling back the boy snorted, "I don't see your name on them. Besides Kakashi-sensei keeps bothering me about eating some vegetables."

"Tomatoes are not vegetables! They are fruit," Sasuke said in a low tone of voice, sounding as offended as if Naruto had outright insulted his dead mother rather than simply mistaking the ambiguous piece of food.

Four sets of eyes swerved to the growing argument.

"Uh Sasuke…its just food you don't have to get upset…"

Sakura nearly choked before she turned her head to glare at Hinata, "You…you are "allowed" to call Sasuke-kun…Sasuke?' she croaked out.

"…all I'm saying is that you have no right to eat a tomato if you don't can't even tell that it is a fruit," Sasuke snipped, "but of course I should have known that you would be dumb enough to make that mistake what with the horrible grades you made at the academy."

"Grades are not everything! You might have been at the top of the class Sasuke, but Sakura so beat you in the tree climbing exercise." Naruto said in response, the dishes clattering slightly as a loose fist hit the surface of the table.

Underneath said table Sakura's fingers started to unconsciously twitch as Hinata nervously squirmed.

"Uh well um…you see Sakura-san it's like this."

"…my money's on Naruto. Who are you betting on Itachi?" the copy cat nin muttered from behind his mask, which pointed to the amazing/annoying fact that his plate was all but clean yet not a soul had seen his face without the mask obscuring it.

"I'm not taking bets. I just want you clowns out of my house."

"You're not being a very gracious host Uchiha."

"Spill Hyuuga, how come you can get away with calling Sasuke-kun by just his name?" Sakura said "sweetly" however the green-eyed glare and twitching smile was scaring the daylights out of Hinata.

"This is my home! I have a right to deny you access to anything that is mine, like the tomatoes, like…that plate your eating off…and" Sasuke's gaze turned to a fidgeting Hinata when he accidentally pointed in her general direction.

All mouths stopped moving as every single eye turned to Sasuke.

There was a long awkward pause before Kakashi cleared his throat, "So…does that mean that Hinata-chan belongs to you as well Sasuke?"

His pointer finger shaking Sasuke quickly lowered his hand, before sulkily turning away, "…I meant the chair that she's sitting in," the boy grumbled however he did a double take as Sasuke glared at his sensei.

"And who gave you permission to call her 'chan'?" Sasuke all but growled, he didn't like the idea of his perverted sensei getting to know Hinata to the point that the twenty-something year old man could get away with calling her "Hinata-chan".

"…No one, I just decided that I might as well fit in with the crowd…uh Itachi…what are you doing? No not the knife, anything but the knife! Alright I get the point, we're not wanted here…should have said so in the first place. Okay we're leaving. Sakura, Naruto."

"But," both children tried to protest until Kakashi grasped Naruto by the scruff of his day glow orange jacket and Sakura by the "ribbon" tie of her headband and forcibly removed the other members of Team 7 from the Uchiha household.

Silence greeted their departure, until finally Hinata cleared her throat quietly.

"Uh…Itachi-niisan, it's okay, you can put the knife down now," the girl said meekly, more than a little bit afraid with the cold callous look that Itachi's countenance had taken when he had threatened Kakashi's single Sharingan eye with the sharp kitchen implement.

Lowering his hand Itachi bit back a small sigh of relief before turning back to his interrupted meal.

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Once finished with dinner Sasuke opened his pack, rummaging to find his nicked set of kunai and shuriken, at least half of his weapons would need to be replaced since he hadn't been more worried about his- and to an unwanted degree Naruto's- life rather than being concerned as to how many kunai and shuriken he was losing as the battle stretched on.

Sasuke's jaw clenched a little. It had been a long bloody fight and had that boy with the ice mirrors had decided to kill him…he won't home. And even as annoying as his sensei and teammates were Sasuke wasn't stupid, he knew that if it wasn't for them occasionally covering him during the many fights that had broken out through the duration of the mission…well he would just be yet another Uchiha buried six feet under.

While a childish part of Sasuke wanted to blame Hinata and Naruto- of course- for the fact that he nearly died, but really there were a number of times that he could have been killed with or without his oath to look out for the clueless and loud blond.

Passing by the small square shaped mirror situated in his room Sasuke couldn't help but smirk. After all there had been "one" good thing that came of the mission.

Finally he had the first tome of the Sharingan. It had taken a near death experience, several bruises, and a hell'va lot of needles piercing through him, but Sasuke knew that it was all worth it because now he knew for certain that his family's treasured blood line ran through his veins.

However, Sasuke's reflection frowned sourly, it was only "one" tome. The single comma-like shape inside his pupils would have been impressive had Sasuke achieved it around age nine, or even age eight like Itachi had. So while Sasuke was rather proud of his achievement, the boy also knew that Itachi would respond simply with "only one Sasuke? Hn I expected better from you."

Teeth clenched Sasuke gruffly commanded that whoever was knocking on his bedroom door to enter.

Flinching a little at the harsh tone Hinata mutely peered around open door, "I'm sorry for intruding Sasuke…I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

"No," Sasuke said simply, still riffling through his pack his nose wrinkling in degust as he picked out some unwrapped portions of the ration food Kakashi had passed out to Team 7 a few miles outside of Konoha. The stuff was nasty and tasted like cardboard so Sasuke had eaten just enough to keep his strength up then "hid" it inside his pack to throw out later.

Sinking gracefully to the floor Hinata noted the dirty clothes, most had grass, dirt, mud, and…

"…blood?" she said softly, her lavender eyes wide just as Sasuke scrambled to grasp the blood spattered shorts. The very clothes he had worn when Haku had ran several needles through him, knocking the Uchiha out and near killing him…but for whatever reason sparing Sasuke from mortal danger.

"It…it's nothing," he tried to excuse, "Naruto accidentally hit me when we were training." Sasuke lied, normally he would proudly admit that he faced down someone with ANBU level skills…however the worried look on Hinata's face readily deterred him from bragging.

Hinata eyed him curiously as if assessing if what her middle sibling was telling the truth or not. Sasuke knew that when Hinata's eyes turned downward that she didn't quite believe him, yet she didn't want to offend him by questioning it further.

"I see. Well just remember to let me collect the clothes so that I can get them washed in the morning."

Sasuke nodded in response, only to pause, "So…what happened while I was gone?"

Hinata's eyes lit up for a second as the normally shy and repressed girl described all the minor missions her team had taken, and Sasuke listened, occasionally nodding.

When Hinata was out of things to say did the shyness return. She didn't know how to go about it, but at the same time Hinata was curious about Sasuke's extended mission.

"Thank you…by the way, for keeping your promise."

Tension coiled in his shoulder and clenched at his stomach, still Sasuke put on a disinterested front, "…you're welcome."

"Ah…you're not mad at me are you?" Hinata asked.

"Mad? What makes you think I'm mad?" Sasuke said a bit more forceful than he had planned to and at that moment Hinata's hand gently pried his hands off the shirt that he was holding tightly- the poor garment had come close to tearing.

"Just a guess," Hinata said with a very small smile, the expression slowly retreated as Hinata cleared her throat.

"So…how was your mission?"

Hesitant at first, after all Hinata had been worried about him prior to leaving, Sasuke started out describing the old man Team 7 had to escort, how Naruto and the old man bickered for hours on end…and…

Curious and clearly entranced by the story Hinata glanced to her sibling, "..and then?" she asked, slightly prodding Sasuke to talk more about the mission.

Next came his description of the fight against the Mist nin who had used a large two person weapon against Team 7 and the old bridge builder. There was an unmistakable boost in pride when Sasuke noted that Hinata was drinking in his every word…so maybe he embellished the tale…just a tiny bit of how he single-handedly defeated the two dangerous Mist nin- okay so Kakashi-sensei "sort of" helped towards the end of the battle but what Hinata didn't know wouldn't hurt her-

And of course Sasuke purposefully skimmed over the "tiny" detail that Naruto had gotten cut/poisoned, knowing fully well that if he had mentioned that part Hinata would fret of Naruto's safety for the duration of the storytelling.

Oh and he left out the tree climbing exercise, Sasuke saw no point in boring Hinata to death with about Kakashi's off the wall training methods…nor did he want her privy to the knowledge that Sakura had accomplished the exercise long before he had.

Sasuke did however go to great pains detailing Haku and Zabuza. Hinata shivered especially at how Sasuke told every hideous detail to the criminal nin Zabuza, making him like a giant monster in the girl's mind.

"But I had to face Haku since Kakashi-sensei had claimed Zabuza for himself." Sasuke continued himself slowly getting caught up in the storytelling as well since this was the first time, in a long long time, Hinata had ever seen him talk so animatedly about anything.

Or at least…not since the massacre of the Uchiha clan, had Sasuke talked this much in a single sitting, almost as if he didn't want her, Hinata, to miss a single detail.

Hinata's face faltered when Sasuke described the jutsu Haku had used against him.

"At first I couldn't see where the needles were coming from and I kept getting hit until it felt like I was a…" Sasuke paused, trying to find the right word.

"….like a human pincushion?" Hinata tried to supply in a helpful tone.

Sasuke smirked slightly, it sounded funny now the entire ordeal was over and done with, but had the fearful memory still been fresh on his mind he might have snapped at Hinata for making light of the near-death experience.

"Something like that. But…" Sasuke trailed off purposefully, dark gaze turning to look at the alarm clock, "Oh look at the time. It's late and I have to get up early. Good night Hinata."

"…That's it?" the girl squeaked in question.

"Oh no there's more, but I've got a big day so I can't waste time telling you stories…" Sasuke baited, dangling the rest of the tale as a tasty lure for her undivided attention.

Biting her lip Hinata bowed slightly, "Please tell me more Sasuke. I don't think I could go to bed not knowing what happened next."

"…are you sure?" Sasuke prodded, 'Ha take that Naruto,' the Uchiha boy couldn't help but mentally crow.

Hinata nodded her head vigorously.

Sitting back down, legs bowed Indian style Sasuke took in a deep breath before acting annoyed, "Tch, fine I'll tell you, so stop being acting like a brat Hinata."

"Now where was I?"

"Um Haku was turning you into a human pincushion."

"Right, so after the third time he had struck me to the ground," – actually it was more like the sixth but again Hinata didn't need to know that- Sasuke began once more, "I thought that if I could see where his needles were coming from then maybe I could counter act them with an attack. And the only way I knew that I could "see" the needles was if I activated the Sharingan…"

"And did you?" Hinata butted in.

Sasuke's dark eyes narrowed, "Hinata…who's telling the story?"

"Um…you?"

"…very good. Now let me finish."

Nodding once to affirm that she would now be a considerate listener Hinata silently listened as Sasuke told how he managed to finally activate the Sharingan, how it felt like he was finally grasping all the concepts his father and elder brother had been trying to drill into his head over the past eleven years of his life, and how everything from Haku's transference from mirror to mirror right down to the sliver of silver that darted around him.

"It was likes seeing everything in slow motion…but not, everything was moving at fairly normal pace but I could "see" ahead of the needles and Haku before they could land or before Haku could fully transfer. I was seeing and mentally predicting what was going to happen, when the attack would land, and where Haku was heading." Sasuke tried to explain in laymen's terms to Hinata, who knew about as much of the Sharingan as Sasuke knew about the Byakugan…which was very little.

However, now came the tricky part. This was the portion of the story where Naruto "heroically" burst into the circle of mirrors and had…saved him…sort of.

Sure enough Sasuke could see Hinata become all starry-eyed over Naruto, so the story's end left a more embittered taste in his mouth.

Stunned and still enthralled by the tale Hinata almost couldn't believe that all of that happened to Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, and their sensei in just a short time frame of two weeks.

Suddenly the girl blurted out, "Can you show it to me?"

Taken aback by the sudden request Sasuke wondered what the hell Hinata was talking about, before it finally sunk in.

"Oh…you mean the Sharingan?' Sasuke asked.

"Hai," Hinata said with a brisk nod of her head.

"Well…it's kind of complicated," Sasuke began only to move back as Hinata leaned in closer.

"Funny, your eyes don't look any different," Hinata mused softly, her breath slightly ruffling his long raven bangs.

Repressing a small shutter Sasuke gulped nervously, "That's because I haven't activated the seal yet," he pointed out.

"Oh," Hinata said, blushing a light pink hue before pulling out of Sasuke's space.

Once Hinata was out of the way Sasuke noticed with a frown that his heartbeat was slowing down from its racing pace and that his face was cooling from an almost identical blush.

'Get a grip,' Sasuke scolded himself, ashamed that he was acting like some silly…girl…no worse one of his fan girls. Sasuke repressed another shiver at that thought before setting to the task of performing the seals.

Dark eyes bleed from black to crimson, a single black comma-like marking giving character to the otherwise ruby-hued gaze.

Sasuke had to keep from flinching as he saw in advance Hinata leaning forward again to get a good look at his eyes, and silently cursed himself for the traitorous heartbeat that speed up once more…surely she could hear it what with sitting so close.

Hinata thoughtfully looked at the ruby eyes of the immature Sharingan. To her it was amazing. It honestly didn't matter to the Hyuuga that there were two tomes missing, she was just happy that Sasuke had finally achieved what he had been working toward for years now.

Pulling away Hinata smiled, "Have you told Itachi-niisan yet? I'm sure he would be pro…"

"Hn, he wouldn't care." Sasuke said bluntly, "Remember he's the "genius", I'm not good enough to live up to his expectations."

"That…that's not true," Hinata said softly her fingers subtly poking one another, "when you were gone…I worried about you," Hinata said, "but Itachi-niisan had confidence that you would come back, alive, well, and perhaps even stronger than when you left."

The girl smiled softly, yet the grin was so sincere that it caused another rapid pulse in Sasuke's heart, "And he was right. You're safe and you're getting stronger Sasuke. So I think you should give Itachi-niisan some credit, he does care and he wants to see you advance…just like I want to see you become stronger."

Swallowing a lump that had formed in his throat Sasuke honestly didn't know how to response to that statement. He had thought through out the duration of the mission that Hinata only cared about what happened to Naruto and that the dobe was returned to Konoha safe and sound.

…apparently he had been mistaken.

His response readily came to mind, however Sasuke quickly forgot what he had planned to say when the door suddenly opened.

Peering into the room Itachi frowned slightly, "It's midnight, both of you to bed…now."

Standing up Hinata bid Sasuke a good night, squeezing between Itachi and the open doorframe to head to her room for bed.

Noticing that his older brother was lingering in the doorway Sasuke turned to face Itachi.

"An an annoying scarecrow informed me that you have reached the first level of the Sharingan."

Sasuke's form tensed, but tried to shrug the subject off, "What of it?"

There was a lingering amount of silence before Itachi said simply, "Nothing…save for that now I'll have to devise a new strategy in order to train you to achieve the next two levels."

"…that's it?" Sasuke asked, honestly expected that Itachi would have scolded him.

The young man shrugged in response, "That is all," Itachi said before leaving the room.

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The dull flicker of orange flamed torched gave weak illumination to the darkened catacomb. Pale, almost grayish-silver, eyes listlessly focused silently counted as he patiently kept pace with the taller being ahead of him.

"…I've received a bit of interesting information from Kabuto concerning the upcoming exams."

Attention caught by the seemingly pointless musing the young man turned his head, staring directly at the back blocked by long jet black hair.

"They will be held in Konoha this year," the boy could almost hear the other smirk, "ironic isn't it Neji-kun? After all, you have a stray relation or two in Konoha…don't you?"

Teeth were silently gritted, "One," he reluctantly admitted.

"Ah. Then this year's exam should be rather interesting for you correct?"

Neji's hand unconsciously fitted ruthlessly over the metal plate of his headband, "Hai…Orochimaru-sama."

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Notes: Whew, sorry that this chapter wasn't very funny –had to get some romantic fluff and plot out of the way- I hope that you have enjoyed this chapter. Later!


	16. Chapter 14

Hitsuzen

Notes: Wah! Thank you all so much for your wonderful and encouraging reviews! Sorry it took me for-ever to update this little cracked ficlet- and I call it cracked because it's about to get a whole lost sillier and out there as the plot progresses-.

Anyway now we're getting close to the Chunnin exam portion of the plot so expect some events in the plot to be the same while switched around and mixed up in other places.

Warning: OOC-ness, some peusdo-yaoi behavior, minor sexual humor, some Hyuuga-cest, also crack…lots and lots of crack. And on a minor note dream sequence will be noted in _italics._

Thank you to: Dani- my beta reader, thank you so much for putting up with my horrid spelling and grammar errors!

And to juliagulia1017, much love to ya!

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Chapter Fourteen:

A Tale of Two Cousins

Onyx eyes scanned the surface of the leaflet paper that had just been passed to him. Quick inkblots, in the shape of checks or x's, appeared right alongside the answers scrawled. After two minutes, Itachi looked over the paper one more time before depositing it in Hinata's covered lap.

"Congratulations, you pass the written portion of the exam," The elder sibling replied, though his tone was clearly lacking enthusiasm and inflection.

To the right, a sarcastic snort was heard.

"Sasuke, stop sulking. You only missed a perfect score by one point." Itachi said, while Hinata looked over the questions that she had missed from the mock written exam Itachi had made up for her and Sasuke's benefit.

Sasuke had finished the mock exam within five minutes whereas Hinata took her time and finished within thirty.

Peering above her single sheet of paper, Hinata inquired, "Itachi-niisan, do you really think these will help us pass the written portion of the Chuunin exam?"

"No, not really. Both of you are doomed to fail this exam." Itachi said in a matter-of-fact tone, making Hinata's already pale complexion turn ashen, that is until Sasuke tossed a pillow at his older brother's head.

"Don't tell her that, you moron." Sasuke moodily snapped in response.

Nibbling her lower lips, Hinata sank down from her position on the edge of the couch to kneel on the floor. "But Sasuke, Itachi-niisan is a Jounin so he should know better than either one of us as to how the Chuunin exam is."

"It's because I've passed the Chuunin exam myself and these mock exams are practically worthless in terms of assistance." Itachi commented, causing both of his siblings to look his way.

Biting down the urge to sigh, he thought, 'Really, would it kill Hinata and Sasuke to _think_ for once?' It was so boring being the only genius in the household. Itachi propped an elbow on the low sitting table in the living room while he lounged on the floor to the right of Hinata.

"The Chuunin exam changes every year, so even if I came up with hundreds of mock written exams, more than likely, you won't see any of those test questions ever again.

"Not to mention that you, your team, and the entire room will have to endure subtle interrogation tactics. Also, your every move will be monitored by exam proctors. And should even one of your teammates fail, then you fail as well, no matter how extensively you have studied."

Pale lavender and dark, almost fathomless black eyes met as both Hinata and Sasuke audibly gulp.

"But…" Itachi began, "Why am I telling you two these things?" He stood up, smoothing the creases out of his dark pants.

"It is a million in one chance that your instructors would place rookie genin teams to go up against older and more seasoned shinobi." Itachi said off-handedly, never mind that he had knowingly dashed the high hopes of the younger Uchihas.

Once Itachi walked away, Hinata looked down dejectedly at her paper test…and here she had been proud that she had done such a good job.

"He's got a point." Sasuke reluctantly admitted, sliding up beside Hinata, glancing at the results of her paper test off the girl's shoulder.

Hinata mutely nodded in response, but still it had been nice to hope that maybe they had a chance at becoming Chuunin.

"Hai, I guess it was just too much to hope for, or at least this soon after we became genin." Hinata replied quietly as Sasuke reached over and snatched her paper, balling up both his and her test papers and tossing them into the trashcan.

'It was nice to imagine that it could happen though.' Hinata thought to herself and she knew that Sasuke had been hoping for the opportunity as well since he had been the one to approach Itachi about testing them, even if the papers were just mock exams.

"Night, Hinata." Sasuke said, heading toward his room.

Leaning over to switch off the light, Hinata returned the sentiment.

"Good night, Sasuke," she said, clicking off the appliance, then leaving to enter her room.

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Clear pearl colored eyes glanced up to the dimming light of the apartment.

'She's in there,' Neji thought to himself. It had taken him a surprisingly long time to track down Hinata-sama's current living quarters.

It had been years since he last saw the former heiress to the Hyuuga clan.

A part of him wondered just why her father sent her away to live with the Uchiha clan.

And when the news of the massacre reached the Hyuuga…no one even bothered to go to Konoha to see if Hinata-sama had made it through such an ordeal.

With a hard scowl on his face, Neji scaled up from his hiding place on top of a tree branch to the balcony, reached into the right pocket of his pants, and pulled out a small wire piece, unlocking the latch holding the window closed.

Quietly, and taking great care to keep out of the way of furniture, Neji tip-toed down the hallway and thought that he had almost made it to his destination, that is, until the door behind him creaked open as two hands shot out, grabbed him, and slammed the door shut.

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"Stop struggling," Itachi snapped.

"Then let me go!" Neji snarled in reply as he twisted and tried to kick Itachi in the shins.

Turning the Hyuuga around to face him, Itachi frowned, "What are you doing here?"

For someone who was "gifted" and a supposed genius of his blood line limit, Neji was drawing a complete blank. Red eyes with three comma-like markings that formed a pinwheel shape were rather intimidating after all.

Still, despite the intimidation, Neji had too much pride to tell anyone, let alone a filthy _Uchiha,_ what he was doing inside the apartment, but at the same time…

"Hmm, pale eyes," Itachi mused. "Hyuuga child, are you here to take Hinata-chan back to her family?" Itachi asked.

Neji nodded in mute response. Hey, that answer sounded good to him.

Itachi glared down at the boy, he wasn't stupid enough to trust the intruder's intentions; however, to put the Hyuuga's honesty to the test, Itachi opened the door, roughly pushed Neji out.

"Hinata-chan's room is at the end of the hallway, do what you must," Itachi said, before he slammed the door to his bedroom closed.

Confused, Neji lingered in the hallway for a minute or two before gingerly stepping toward the last door, his right hand fitting on the doorknob.

Gulping once Neji took in a deep breath. This was Hinata-ch…Hinata-sama. She wouldn't have changed drastically even if it had been close to six years since he last saw her.

Twisting the doorknob to the left, Neji lightly pressed on the door so that it gave in just enough for him to see inside the room.

It was rather plain. A small desk situated in front of a window, a wooden dresser. Then finally he saw the sleeping hime…uh Hinata-sama sleeping curled up, the blanket pull up over her neck so that only her dark hair was visible. The ruffled locks looked so soft and silky that he just had to touch…

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"_Oh, Sasuke!" the white-eyed girl cheered as she leapt and loosely wrapped arms around his neck, "You did it! You passed the Chuunin exam, I'm so proud of you," Hinata said, and indeed her pale, heart-shaped face held a beautiful bright smile._

_Slipping on his Chunnin flak vest, he turned to her, "It wasn't that difficult Hinata."_

_The girl pouted cutely. "But Sasuke, you defeated an entire team of Cloud nin by yourself in the first round of the tournament. And even after one of them broke your left arm you went right on to the semi-finals to beat that Grass nin and then…oh, oh my," Hinata breathed, her face all flustered as he leaned in, stealing a kiss._

_When he pulled away, Hinata's face was flushed pink, the color spreading down her neck, to her chest, then he noticed that she was without her usual heavy jacket. Rather, Hinata was only wearing a mesh shirt with white bandages covering her bountiful breasts, which were rising and falling with her panting breath._

"…_Sasuke," She said, a small shy smile. "No matter how modest you are, you have to admit that you have accomplished something amazing, so…" She bit her bottom lip, turning it an enticing shade of red. "What do you want…as a reward?_

_Instantly, a dozen ideas came to the boy's mind, most of which was of his own devices since Sasuke had yet to see or even read an Icha Icha novel. Instead, his imagination was fueled by the natural perversity that comes from being a heterosexual teenage male._

_However, there was one thing that he really wanted since all thoughts trailed back to the twin "lumps" situated on Hinata's person._

"_I want…" He paused for dramatic effect, then leaned in and whispered his desire into Hinata's ear._

_The girl gasped, giggled, and turned a new shade of red as her fingers twiddled in an adorable manner._

"_Eh…Sasuke. I-I don't think that I could…"_

"_Please, for me?" He asked._

_There was more stuttering and hesitation but finally, Hinata's hands reached for the hem of her shirt, slowly dragging the hole-ridden fabric over her slender waist, up over the bandages…before lunging forward without warning and cupping up right between his legs._

'_Ack! Hold on, this isn't suppose to happen…yet!' dream-Sasuke thought to himself only to wake up with a startle._

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Black colored eyes flew open as Sasuke stared up at the figure that was kneeling on his bed, two alien hands placed between his legs as the person above suddenly accused,

"Y-You're not Hinata-sama!"

'Holy shit, that's a guy's voice!' Sasuke realized.

Suddenly, as if the two had turned into magnets of North and North, they separated.

Neji bolted off the bed, wiping his 'defiled' hand against the white walls of the room while Sasuke huddled up on the bed in a fetal position making sure to guard his molested privates.

Both of them panting, and fighting down the strong urge to vomit, Neji was the first to glare.

"What are you doing in Hinata-sama's room?" he said, bristling with anger and indignation.

"Me? What are you doing in my house, you…you white-eyed…gay freak!"

"I'm not gay!"

"Then why in the hell did you grab me…" Sasuke's voice trailed off as he suddenly started to realize what was going on.

"…Wait…Hinata's room. You're a pervert out to rape Hinata!" Sasuke accused, standing up on his bed.

"No! I'm not here to rape anyone," Neji returned, only to have to duck as a pillow was launched at his head, followed by a clenched fist.

"Why else would you break in, huh?" Sasuke snapped as he struck Neji across the chin, only to stagger backward as Neji kneed him in the gut.

"I need to speak to Hinata-sama first. Then I will explain everything," Neji said in his defense, but Sasuke tackled him just before the Hyuuga could reach the door.

"Like hell I'm going to let you walk in on Hinata and molest her, too," Sasuke said in a cold tone of voice as he wrestled Neji to the floor, pinning the boy's struggling hands over his head.

The scuffling and struggling would have continued on in the dark, perhaps all night even, if Hinata hadn't come in and flicked on the light.

Black and white eyes turned to the open doorway where Hinata sleepily rubbed her eyes and, around a yawn, asked, "Sasuke…what's going on? Why are you making so much noise?"

"Hinata-sama!" Neji said, causing the pale-eyed girl to blink then look at the intruder who currently was in a rather awkward position since Sasuke was straddling Neji's waist.

"…Neji-niisan?" Hinata questioned.

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"So," Itachi paused long enough to take a sip of the jasmine tea Hinata fixed for her two brothers and the "intruder" turned welcomed guest. " You are Hinata-chan's cousin, correct?"

A curt nod from Neji was the response. "Hai. Hinata's father is my father's twin brother. We grew up together as children…well, until an incident occurred. And after said incident, Hiashi-sama feared for Hinata-sama's safety, so he turned to your clan, in hopes that the Uchiha would take her in as one of their own."

"Sasuke, you haven't even touched your tea," Hinata pointed out.

Sasuke's pale hand clenched around the delicate china cup, causing tiny spider vein cracks to form along the edges.

A guy broke into their home, molested him while he slept, and now was going after Hinata, and she expected them to all sit down and…and drink tea as if it was okay!?

"I don't want to drink my damn tea," the boy grumbled sourly.

Pale lavender eyes blinked before Hinata turned to glance back to her cousin, "Niisan, did my father send you to find me?" she asked, sounding almost hopeful.

Biting down on an easy white lie, Neji shook his head. "No. I came to find you on my own. But," Sasuke twitched unconsciously as Neji reached over the table and took Hinata's hands in his own. "I must tell you that you are in grave danger and…"

"The only 'grave danger' I see right now is that you've got your greasy perverted hands on hers," Sasuke rudely interrupted.

"I'm not a pervert," Neji growled between clenched teeth.

"I merely made a slight error as to which room Hinata-sama was located in…" The Hyuuga was cut off abruptly as Sasuke reached over and threw tea in his face.

It would have been more…dramatic if the tea had been scalding hot, but since Sasuke hadn't touched it, the tea had cooled so that it was nothing more than sticky sweet liquid thrown in Neji's face.

"That was very mature of you, Sasuke," Itachi grumbled darkly over the rim of his china cup.

Neji scowled, wiping tea off his face with one hand before clasping Hinata's hands once more. "You need to return to Oto as soon as possible Hinata-sama because if you stay in Konoha, you'll be in great danger."

"Danger from what, though?" Sasuke interrupted again, making Neji see increasing shades of red.

"I can not explain nor give a name to that danger at the moment. To mention names at this point in time would place Hinata-sama at greater risk then she already is. Also…" Neji lightly patted and allowed his thumb to stoke Hinata's right hand, much to Sasuke's growing annoyance.

"It is high time Hinata-sama returned to her clan. You two will of course be compensated for your generosity."

Suddenly, Sasuke realized what was going on. The psycho pervert was talking about taking Hinata away to live with her family…for good.

Sasuke moved to protest, but was beaten to the punch by his older brother.

"No compensation will be necessary," Itachi spoke up, his hands folded in front of his face, elbows propped on the table, "Hinata-chan will remain with us, so in a sense, we have no need for rewards or gestures of gratitude."

Pale eyes blinked, "But…you have done more than enough in terms of caring and looking after her and she is our clan heiress, and by all rights she belongs to the Hyuuga clan first and foremost."

"And we will continue to care and look after her. Hinata is bound to the Uchiha clan by a contract," Itachi assured.

"And since I'm the eldest of the last two Uchiha clan members, it is my decision as to whether to release Hinata-chan of her contract obligations or not. And my decision is that she will stay and eventually fulfill the terms of the contract our fathers created and signed."

Sasuke couldn't help but feel a smug sense of satisfaction. Hinata was staying and now that perverted cousin of hers could take his hands off of her.

However, when Sasuke looked to Hinata his smugness died a quick and painful death.

Eyes downcast, near tears actually, Hinata was staring at hands clasped and positioned in her lap as Neji gradually released his hold of her.

With a somber expression, Neji stood up. "I see. Well, then I shall entrust Hinata-sama's safety to the two of you once more. Good night."

Neji moved to leave, yet paused as Hinata wordlessly grasped the sleeve of her cousin's beige jacket, giving it a small tug before she turned to Itachi and Sasuke, "Can you two excuse us for a moment?" she asked in a soft tone.

Itachi nodded. "Of course, take your time."

Sasuke however, had to be kicked into quiet submission, via a few strong kicks from Itachi, so that the boy didn't rudely disrupt Hinata and her older cousin.

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Alone in the living room with her cousin, Hinata waited until they were out of sight from the kitchen before she hugged Neji tightly.

"It…" She gulped. "It was good to see you again Neji-niisan. I missed you…" She stopped when Neji bent down and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"And I missed you, Hinata-sama. However, I'm happy to see that you are taken care of."

'Even if that Uchiha brat is far too familiar with you,' Neji thought, recalling how close Sasuke decided to sit next to "**_his"_** Hinata-sama.

Kissing her once more on the forehead, Neji pulled away from the embrace, noting Hinata's near heartbroken expression, he smiled ever so slightly.

"Guujin-chan."

Hinata's ears perked as she heard the old childhood nickname that Neji used with her.

With a short curt nod, Neji headed to the open balcony window. "We'll see each other again soon and I shall try to see what sort of contract the Uchiha clan has you bound to, then you can return home."

Throwing open the windows, Neji leaped to make his daring and cool heroic exit; however, there was a slight complication.

"Uh, Neji-niisan…" Hinata began, only to wince as Neji overshot his jump and fell off the tree branch he was aiming for.

What followed was the sound of a screeching bird, several branches…or bones breaking, ending in a loud thud which was punctuated by some rather colorful curses that Hinata had never heard before in her life.

"…Maybe you should…take the stairs instead," Hinata finished her warning meekly, before she dared to peer over the balcony to see if Neji was still alive and breathing.

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Notes: Mostly fluff chapter I know but I'm getting close to some big plot developments. And I have to warn that if you don't like Hyuuga-cest…there is going to be a lot of one-sided NejiHina in this fic so please don't flame/complain to me about it.

This is my story and if I want Hyuuga-cest then gosh darn it I have a right to add Hyuuga-cest without having to apologize for it!

Oh and brownie points to the person who can guess what guujin means.


	17. Chapter 15

Hitsuzen

Notes: It's baaaaccccckkkk! I know it seems like I've simply abandoned this fic, well I had for awhile; but I'm back with an update! I am so very sorry for making the readers wait so long- there are...still people reading this, right? Anyway, everyone all the credit goes to SunnyLore. She's my fan fic pal and she's slowly converting me back into liking SasuHina. Also, she helped me get this chapter off the ground. So, thank you SunnyLore!

–

Chapter Fifteen:

Boy Will Be Teenagers

Dark eyes scanned the neat, tight, and tiny writing on the parchment before him. Itachi could feel a migraine coming on. He could read and memorize a scroll in seconds. Accumulating jutsu was not a problem, thanks to his Sharingan eyes. However, 'fold an egg into the dough'; was a phrase that bemused the ANBU-level shinobi. Staring at the recipe in front of him; puzzling over the paper as if it was written in a ancient and foreign dialect, Itachi wonder, for the first time if his life; if he was inadequate to carry out this task.

No. If his younger adopted sister/fiancée, that particular paradox still kept him awake some nights; then so could he. With that in mind, Itachi pulled out the carrots and tomatoes for the stew going with the pork and dumplings. Determined to start in familiar territory, cutting things to itty bitty pieces; Itachi moved to take the knife to the vegetables; only to suddenly glance up as he sense a familiar chakra signal approaching.

Soon enough, the door opened. The squish of muddy shoes being pulled off followed not long after the door closed. Itachi, leaned around the kitchen counter. Staring back at him, was a creature, dredged up from the depths of a swamp. Underneath all the muck, the only recognizable feature; was two pale lavender eyes.

"Um...it rained this afternoon. We were...chasing Tora-kun. Again." Hinata said flatly. Even Hinata, as much patience her body possessed; was starting to get irritated by the cat as well. It didn't help, she had an Inuzuka teammate and a yappy puppy. Both who's first instincts was to chase the cat, not capture it.

"I see. You can go ahead and bathe." The eldest Uchiha stared at the food set out before him. No. He wasn't going to ask for help. It was beneath him. He'd figure this out. Besides, Hinata needed to get clean so she wouldn't be up all night cleaning the mud she would track through the apartment.

"Thank you...I..."

Itachi blinked. Something was coming, fast.

Hinata just barely moved away from the door as it suddenly was shoved open. Two boys grunted and squirmed, stuck in the doorway since they both wanted in at exactly the same time.

The young Genin blinked, "Sasuke-nii...Neji-nii?"

"Get out of the way." Sasuke growled at the intruding Hyuuga.

"You first! I want to speak with Hinata-sama..."

"You talked to her this morning. And last night. And all day yesterday. Give us all a break...from you." Sasuke snapped, pushing Neji's headband over his eyes.

"S-stop that!" the older boy bristled, quickly pushing it back into place. Finally, they managed to wiggle through the narrow doorway; but this didn't mean their quarrel was over. Not by a long shot.

"Hinata-sama...you're back safely." Neji said with a genuine smile, holding Hinata's muddy hands.

"Um...nii-san...your hands. I need to take a bath" she said, quickly extracting herself from Neji.

There was a pause as Hinata moved to walk away, destination being the bathroom. Then, Neji uttered something which shook the Uchiha household to its core.

"Can I join you?"

Hinata sputtered, her face first draining of color; only to have an interesting shade of red quickly cover her cheeks. Sasuke was purple, from fury. Itachi, stabbed the cutting board with the knife.

"No!" Hinata finally got out after much gasping and mute floundering.

"Why not? We've bathed together before."

Hinata's blush intensified, "W-we were little kids back then. Things...things are different now."

"Hinata's right. Neji...go home." Itachi stated bluntly. Yet, if Neji had plans to leaving, Sasuke prevented it; since he tackled Neji to the ground- furious the older boy would make such a request.

Attempting to side-step the brawl, Hinata inadvertently got caught up in the brawl anyway.

"P-please stop fighting!" she shouted as the boys got up of the floor and started throwing punches.

"No...stop!" Hinata protested, getting right in the middle. Her hands thrust out to help separate the two, however the punches kept flying.

Sasuke switched to a open-hand tactic, going for Neji's throat. However, instead of catching the older boy's neck and squeezing until Neji begged for mercy; Sasuke's fingers connected with something soft...and...squishy?

Dark eyes grew wide, horrified as Sasuke saw his hand was on Hinata's right breast. He couldn't move. Couldn't speak. Could barely breathe in and out. It was like the world had stopped. Even Neji and Itachi, could do nothing more than look on.

Finally, feeling returned to Sasuke's arm and hand. Only, the limb didn't pull away. Instead, Sasuke's fingers curled instinctively on the breast, giving it a strong squeeze.

Hinata winced, "O-owww."

What happened next was so fast; it would take days for Sasuke and Neji to sort it all out. Hinata was suddenly picked up and placed out of reach. Sasuke and Neji were dragged by their necks to the sofa. And Itachi was in front of them, brandishing a knife threateningly. Itachi would have looked like the dangerous ANBU operative he was; if it wasn't for the lilac-colored apron, around his neck.

"I didn't want to do this, but you two leave me no choice."

Neji and Sasuke stared at Itachi with wide-deer-in-headlights-eyes. Was he...was he going to kill them?

Itachi put down the knife, yet Neji and Sasuke still felt pure fear chill their blood. The nineteen year old pulled up a chair, across from the sofa. Hands folded in front of his face, Sasuke noticed the Sharingan red in his brother's eyes. The younger sibling swallowed uneasily.

"We're going to have...a little talk." Itachi said in a ominous tone.

–

After Itachi had extracted her from the awkward situation, Hinata quickly scampered to the bathroom. She made sure the door was locked and closed tightly; before breathing a sigh of relief. Though Hinata had missed her cousin very much; she wasn't about to share a bath with him. Not that there were old and well...so different. Hinata's face flushed as the girl peeled off her jacket, black shirt, and mesh. Unwrapping her breast bindings, the girl winced a little. Sasuke's grip had been so strong, his fingers had left marks on her chest, even for all the clothing she wore.

The blush on her face would not go away. In fact, it seemed to flare up more Hinata recalled this event and the previous one. Shaking her head, while showering off the mud; Hinata sighed. This...this wasn't right.

She liked Naruto-kun. Sasuke was more like a brother to her. Yet, why couldn't she stop blushing?

–

Now that he had a captive audience, Itachi wasn't sure what to do with them. The Sharingan user thought back to when his father tried to have the same discussion with him...

_ He would wake up, see his mother fix breakfast, and notice the growing bulge around her belly. It...bothered him. His parents already said the family was expecting a new baby. But, he didn't 'get it'. How did it- the baby- get in there, his mother's stomach? This didn't jive with the previous explanation of storks, cabbage patches, and Santa Claus._

_So, ever an inquisitive child asked one morning_

_"Father, where do babies come from?"_

_Fugaku lowered the newspaper, "What did you say?"_

_Itachi scowled, he was sure he had spoken loud enough to be heard. Plus, his father wasn't 'that old' to have hearing loss._

_"I said...where do babies come from?"_

_"The stork." Fugaku said gruffly._

_"Why is it in Mother's stomach then? If babies are delivered by stork...which by the way doesn't make sense; because a bird couldn't carry something as heavy as a baby. Anyway, shouldn't it already be born and...in a basket and blanket or something?"_

_Mikoto chuckled from the kitchen, while Fugaku reluctantly lowered his paper again._

_"I..." looked pleadingly to his wife. _

_"Oh look at the time, I'd better hang out the laundry to dry" she said brightly. Fugaku suspected as much- the ditch and dash. _

_'Well...you see Itachi, it's like this."_

_Dark eyes stared up, expectantly. Waiting patiently for an answer._

_Fugaku swallowed, starting to sweat a little, then grumbled, "It's it about time you...go to the Academy?"_

Presently, Itachi scowled, fingers rubbing the creases around his eyes. Yep, he was right. The start of a migraine was creeping up on him.

Of course, he wasn't an idiot who didn't know a lick about sex or reproduction. He was Uchiha Itachi. However, knowing and explaining were two different sides of the same coin.

"Did Iruka...instruct you," he looked pointedly at Sasuke, "about sex?"

For his part, Sasuke blinked dark eyes, still looking a bit afraid of his older brother. Reluctantly, the boy uttered, "He...tried. Started rambled about birds, bees, flowers and...bunnies?"

Itachi sighed heavily. He'd have to have a talk with the Hokage. Namely, to ask what the hell Iruka doing teaching kids? The man was barely competent himself.

'_It's all that ramen he eats._' Itachi thought. Like cooking, Itachi found himself out of his element. He couldn't kill Sasuke. His younger brother was annoying at times; but Itachi was irrevocably attached. Neji...well he could kill the Hyuuga brat, but Hinata would never forgive him.

Neither boy would fall for a distraction, not for long at least. Besides, this had to be done. Sasuke was twelve, almost thirteen. Sasuke would have to learn about the opposite sex, eventually. Itachi had already decided it would be his younger sibling to revive the clan. Whether it would be with Hinata-chan or not...was yet to be seen. Surprisingly, the more unpredictable element of the pair; was the Hyuuga herself.

Sasuke, already hung on the girl's timid words; followed her, and wanted to impress Hinata so badly it was sickeningly cute to watch. She didn't seem too crazy about Sasuke though, simply treating him like a sibling.

Another sigh. Itachi knew he wasn't normally like this, yet he was at a loss. How difficult could it be...to tell two teenager boys about sex?

Or how they need to give Hinata her own personal space, for that matter?

A heavy silence settled in between the ANBU and his two terrified pupils. Itachi suddenly tensed, stood up, pulled out a kunai and opened the window.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed, holding the shinobi knife under Kakashi's chin.

"Now, now Itachi don't do anything rash." Kakashi said, his visible eye crinkled closed.

'_He's mocking me...I know it._' Itachi thought with gritted teeth, "State your business Hatake."

"Still so rude. Thought Hinata-chan would have taught you some manners by now."

Itachi tilted the knife lower, pointing to Kakashi's pulse point, "Your reason?"

"Right...Sasuke you left some of your gear behind." Kakashi said, still hanging upside down on the balcony from the apartment above theirs. He tossed a small weapon's pouch inside the living room.

"There, I'm done. Now, how about letting me go, hn?" Kakashi said to Itachi.

Slowly, it dawned on Itachi. Maybe...he didn't have to take care of this awkward task. He tugged on Kakashi's shirt.

"First you tell me to leave, then you're yanking me inside? Make up your mind already." Kakashi said blandly, as if being dragged around by his shirt collar was nothing special.

"Shut up. I need you for something."

Kakashi stepped inside the living room, only after Itachi released his grasp.

"I don't see any enemy shinobi. No Hokage-sama to give us a mission, either. What do you need me for?"

Itachi swore, he couldn't stand this man. First, he was a false Sharingan user; a mockery just for existing and using that eye. Secondly, Kakashi's casual attitude grated on him. Still, Kakashi had his uses; namely being a convenient scapegoat.

"These two," Itachi pointed to Sasuke and Neji, "I want you to...talk with them."

Kakashi, either didn't get what he was referring to. Or was just playing dumb to up his annoyance factor. Itachi assumed it was the later.

"Talk about what though?"

"You know..." Itachi gave a meaningful glare, namely at the jacket pocket where Kakashi kept his Icha Icha book.

"Oh. Why don't you do the honors? You are, after all, Sasuke's precious older brother."

Sasuke twitched. Neji smirked the boy's direction.

"Precious older brother Itachi? Is that what you call him?"

Kakashi chuckled, sheepishly rubbing his silver hair, "Not exactly. Mostly, Sasuke brags about his older brother."

"S-shut up! Hmph" Sasuke grunted as Kakashi placed a heavy hand on the boy's ruffled black hair.

"Ah, kids. They're so precocious and endearingly obnoxious, at this age. Right, Itachi?"

"Quit stalling, Hatake." Itachi said briskly.

"Love the apron by the way. Really brings out your eyes...oops!" Kakashi side stepped the kunai thrown at him.

–

Hinata emerged from the bathroom dry, clean, and changed into new clothes. Bare feet padded down the hallway; only to stop short of entering the living room, Itachi blocking the path.

"Itachi-nii-san? Is...something wrong?" she asked, noticing the slight perturbed expression on the young man's face. Itachi glanced up, then handed Hinata a letter.

"This is for Kurenai-san to read. You'll be spending the night with her, Hinata-chan."

Pale eyes blinked, "Why?"

Itachi shook his head, "It'd be pointless to explain. Pack an overnight bag and take this letter to your sensei. Don't come home until tomorrow."

"B-but..." the girl stammered, confused and a bit hurt at Itachi's abrupt and seemingly distant manner of addressing her.

"Do as you're told, Hinata-chan."

Hurt, Hinata's lips curved downward, yet she nodded nevertheless. "Hai...Itachi-niisan."

–

Itachi moved to return to the kitchen, he still had to make dinner. Yet, the Uchiha performed an abrupt halt as he caught Kakashi with his book out, reading aloud to Sasuke and Neji.

"What do you think you're doing?" Itachi asked, his tone low and threatening.

Kakashi casually flipped to the next page, "I'm teaching."

"Put that down."

"Or else?" Kakashi asked, silver eyebrow arched at the command.

"Or I'll pluck out your Sharingan eye. I will do it, Hatake. I just need a good enough reason to."

A sigh, "Fine, fine."

Neji and Sasuke shot grateful looks to Itachi. They didn't understand most of what was going on in that book, yet it didn't sound pleasant. Especially with all the moaning and screaming sound effects Kakashi was adding.

" I don't understand what the big deal is. I learned about sex through Icha Icha Paradise and I turned out alright."

Itachi instantly responded in a deadpan, "The jury is still out on that."

Kakashi returned, "Says the man wearing the frilled purple apron."

"Says the man wielding a kitchen knife the size of your head."

"...point taken. So, if I can't use Icha Icha...what do you suggest?"

"Figure something out."

Itachi found he'd regret those words, for the rest of his natural life.

–

'_I don't understand._' Hinata thought, trying so hard not to get upset as she walked out of the apartment, a bag slung over her shoulder. Was...Itachi-nii-san angry at her? Why else would he send her to Kurenai-sensei?

For the life of her though, Hinata didn't know what she had done wrong! She helped around the house. Kept her room clean. Helped buy groceries. In fact, Kurenai-sensei often remarked both young men would have starved, without her cooking for them all the time. Hinata was quick to correct her teacher in that respect. Sasuke was trying to learn. Itachi...well Itachi-nii-san just wasn't meant to cook- every attempt made at cooking seemed to have toxic results.

"Maybe...he thinks I'm too much trouble. Maybe, he wants to send me away...to live with Kurenai-sensei." Hinata wondered aloud. Despite her best efforts to stop, Hinata could feel the tears well up behind her eyes.

First, her father didn't want her. Now, Itachi-nii-san too?

–

"What are you doing now?" Itachi asked after seeing Kakashi take a carrot and tomato from the counter.

"You told me to come up with something. I've got a plan."

Itachi scowled. He looked at the pork cutlets and his knife. Dinner could wait, right now he had to make sure Kakashi wasn't poisoning his younger brother's mind.

At last, freeing himself of the apron, Itachi walked into the living room; just in time to witness the start of Kakashi's demonstration.

"Now, here we have...a carrot, he's a boy. The tomato is a girl. When a boy and girl...yes...Sasuke?"

"They need names." Sasuke stated.

"Hn, got a point there. We'll call the tomato..."

"Hinata-chan?"

"...sure. Why not?" All the while thinking to himself, '_This kid isn't even fifteen, yet he's got a one-track mind. I think I'm starting to like him a bit more_'

"And the carrot will be called..." Kakashi's voice trailed off. He could see the eagerness in both boys. Neji-carrot, Sasuke would sulk and tune out. If the carrot was called Sasuke, well...Kakashi wasn't sure what the Hyuuga would do. Or why he was there in the first place, for that matter.

'_Didn't the Hyuuga break away from Konohagakure a few years back? Joined by some clan in the Grass Village?_' Kakashi thought with a shrug. No one really kept tabs on the Hyuuga clan. They were all a bunch of stuck-up jack-asses.

"Let's call the carrot Itachi."

Before Neji and Sasuke could protest, by adding their names; Kakashi went on with the lesson.

"Now, the story goes like this. Itachi-carrot and Hina-mato love each other very much." Kakashi said, throwing the sour namesake of the carrot a smug look.

"Get on with it, Hatake. We don't have all night."

"Not so fast, Itachi-carrot...I mean Itachi. Let the story unfold, no rushing things."

"So...Itachi-carrot and Hina-mato love each other. They've been dating for quite awhile now."

Kakashi paused to notice the killing intent both boys were sending Itachi's way.

"Or, they were both really drunk and had a wild night. Whatever works best for you two."

Itachi felt like covering his face with both hands. This was turning out to be a disaster. If only, he had swallowed his pride and talked to Neji and Sasuke.

"Whatever the reason, they're in the mood. So...hn. How is this going to work?" Kakashi muttered to himself, trying to angle the carrot and tomato to look like they're kissing.

"Ah screw it." the Copy Cat nin muttered, before picking up the kitchen knife Itachi left on the coffee table.

Sasuke and Neji, both dove to stop Kakashi's hand. "What are you going to do with Hinata?!" the boys demanded at the same time, only to stare and huff at each other.

"Relax boys. I need to cut the tomato to show you something."

The Hyuuga and Uchiha reluctantly released Kakashi's wrist.

"Now..." Kakashi hacked into the tomato, splitting it in half. Red juice and pulp spattered the table, making Itachi twitch. When Hinata got back, she'd make it a point to clean that table until it was spotless again. Unless, he could rope Kakashi in cleaning up the mess before he left.

Not likely though.

"This is the inside of Hina-mato. See the little yellow things? Good. Sasuke, what are these yellow dots?"

"Seeds."

"Good job. Remind me to give you a gold star."

Sasuke scowled. For Kami sake, he wasn't a three year old! Was this really necessary?

"So, just like tomatoes come from seeds, so do people....in a way. Only women...err tomatoes have the seeds though...and..."

A sigh came from Kakashi, "Itachi, this part is boring. Do I have to cover everything?"

"Everything." Itachi confirmed with a curt nod.

Kakashi slumped in his chair, "I want to get to the fun part."

"We're waiting." both boys said, only to shoot violent glares at one another. It was obvious this lesson had to end quickly, otherwise they'd start throwing punches again.

"Right, sorry for getting distracted. So, Hina-mato and Itachi-carrot...to heck with it." Kakashi's cleared his throat and gave his best impression of Itachi's voice, "Hina-mato, I can't resist you anymore. I need to be with you."

Next, his tone shifted again. A lighter, softer, and more feminine quality, "I-Itachi-carrot, it's...it's alright...I want to be with you too. I need you...inside of me."

With that, Kakashi roughly jammed the carrot into the center of the cut tomato.

"Oh...um...Hina-mato you feel so good."

Itachi swallowed bile.

"Ah! Itachi-carrot, faster...faster...h-harder. Don't s-stop feels sooo good."

Neji and Sasuke didn't look so good either; their faces drained of color save for an odd mix of paste with a touch of sea-sick green.

If Kakashi noticed how disgusted his audience was; this knowledge didn't stop him from continuing the role play.

His gloved hand was covered in red juice, seeds, and tomato bits, "Oops, looks like Hina-mato was a bit too excited there. That usually doesn't happen for a first timer. Or ...it does, but usually it's Itachi-carrot that goes first."

"Hatake..." Itachi gritted out.

Kakashi turned a deaf ear to the offended growl, "Hang on, it's getting good. Ohhh...Ohhh...Ohh Kami. Itachi-carrot. ITACHI-CARROT!"

Itachi's headache was no longer a slight pang behind his eyes. Now, it was a full explosion of wrath. Blood pumping, as his hands twitched before forced into fists, so he didn't go over and choke a scarecrow.

"Nnhgh! HINA-MATO!" Kakashi exclaimed, dropping both pieces of produce to the table.

"Whoo...I need a smoke."

Itachi ground out, "You don't smoke."

"Eh, I'll take one from Asuma," Kakashi replied with a shrug before facing the boys, back into teaching mode.

"Anyway, that was the fun part. There is also foreplay involved, which is also pretty good..."

"Hatake..."

"Good to know when you're older. Much older. So, now to the technical bits. Itachi-carrot fills Hina-mato with his seed. Some magical crap happens and in nine months later, you're a father. After that happens, you can kiss your freedom goodbye."

Neji blinked first, then raised his hand.

"Yes. Pale boy, who dresses like a homeless Eskimo. You've got a question?"

"My name is Neji," the Hyuuga snapped, while Sasuke managed a weak chuckle- too shocked looking at the tomato to really put forth an effort in mocking.

"Eh, I like my name better. Your question?"

"I thought you said the tomatoes...women have the seeds."

"Well...men have seeds too, but there are more of them and they're really small. You'll figure it out on your own." Kakashi added when he noticed the boys bemused expressions.

Sasuke still looked a touch green. His eyes were glued to the mutilated tomato. He was beyond horrified, this was emotional scarring. Why? Why did an innocent tomato have to die? What purpose had it served?

Suddenly, the tomato was picked up by Kakashi's right gloved hand, "Almost forgot about this part. Listen closely, it's just as important as the fun part. It might save your life one day."

"You see boys. One fateful week out of month. This...happens...to a woman." he formed a fist and squeezed the tomato hard. Red juice flowed like blood, bits of tomato flesh and seeds hitting the table.

"When this happens to your wife, girlfriend, fu...uh friend with benefits...you run. You run and you don't look back, until she's back to normal. You alright over there, Sasuke?"

The boy dimly nodded in response, yet had a hard time keeping his lunch down.

"Anyway, during that week women are dangerous. They are moody, emotional...more than usual. And if your significant other is a kunoichi, watch out. They know where you live, they are armed to the teeth, they can pick locks, and while they're suffering nothing male is safe."

Kakashi callously dropped the tomato to the table again, wiping the veggie-fruit gunk onto the carpet, "That 'time of the month' , only stops when she's pregnant. And that's another circle of Hell, all on it's own."

"They actually allowed you to teach?" Itachi asked.

Kakashi shrugged in response, "Trust me, I tried to get out of teaching. I guess they were having a shortage."

The two boys whom were once at each other's throat; were now sharing the experience of being stunned by silent horror.

"Any questions?"

Imposibly wide dark and white eyes stared up at Kakashi.

"Thought so. But if you come up with anything, don't hesitate to ask...Itachi. Bye."

Itachi followed Kakashi to the balcony, "Thank you for scarring them for life."

"No need to thank me Itachi. It was my pleasure." the Copy Cat nin chirpped.

Itachi glared until the silver-haired Jounin made his quick exit. Then, the eldest Uchiha turned to see the aftermath of Kakashi's verison of 'The Talk'.

Sasuke was holding the mutilated tomato in his hands, like a broken baby bird. Neji was glaring at the tomato-juice smeared carrot.

Itachi's only hope, was that Kurenai-san did a better job of instructing Hinata. Namely, the girl wouldn't come home and be in dire need of therapy.

–

Notes: Not much SasuHina, ItachiHina, or NejiHina going on for that matter. SunnyLore is dragging me back to this fic and screaming, so expect me to update...not soon but at least I won't leave you guys waiting for years and years.


	18. Chapter 16

Hitsuzen

Notes: Well...there goes the promise of not leaving you guys hanging for years. To all those who have been around for a while, thank you for being so patient with me. I am trying my best to stay focus, but I know you're tired of me saying that and never following through with my promise of completing it. I am doing my best to focus on just a few projects at a time, so I am aiming to make progress -if not full completion- of the fic this year.

To new readers, welcome! If you read the message above, I am pleading for patience.

Also, don't let the title fool you. This won't be the same old 'rehash' of the original Chuunin exam. Different things happen that will change the course of this story, so trust me it is important.

Side Note: _Italics_= flashback

Chapter Sixteen:

Chunnin Exams -Part 1-

"Thank you" the cheerful grocer said with a bright smile and a slight flush to her cheeks. Itachi Uchiha, while not her most frequent customer or biggest buyer, had to be her favorite patron. Mostly because he was very easy on the eyes.

'If only my husband knew...' the woman thought, blush growing a deeper hue of red. After bagging the ingredients for...dango she guessed, the woman handed them over to the young man. He seemed distracted for a moment.

"Uchiha-san?" she inquired. Dark eyes blinked and he was back to his senses. Silently, Itachi took the grocery bag from her then turned to leave the store.

"Ah...if only I was twenty years younger," the grocer said with a small sigh before moving to help the next customer in line.

–

'He's after me.'

Itachi had felt it from the moment he walked up to the grocer's counter to pay. He felt a touch annoyed, maybe even paranoid. He wouldn't dare think of attacking him inside a store. It would cause too much destruction and too many civilians would be caught in the middle. Luckily, the stalker didn't appear until he was halfway home. From the corner of his eye, Itachi saw something move. Fast. But...

He dropped the plastic bag and held out an arm to catch the shorter person in the gut with his fist.

"Not fast enough, Sasuke."

Winded but not defeated, Sasuke glared up at his brother, eyes red with the Sharingan.

'Impressive, he can already call on it at will. However, it's too early in the game to bring out his trump card,' Itachi analyzed. For although Sasuke was excelling quickly with the Sharingan under his and Kakashi's teachings, the boy still didn't have enough chakra control or stamina to keep it going for a long period of time.

To prove his point, Itachi unleashed a barrage of attacks with the intention of wearing his younger brother down until either the Sharingan faded or he collapsed from exhaustion. The bag forgotten, the Genin and ANBU disappeared into the trees.

The clang of metal resounded as weapons flew yet weren't aimed to harm. Both Uchiha knew the other could see the spray of kunai or shower of shuriken, so instead they took advantage of the gleam of metal in the sun, the time it took to dodge or deflect, and the recovery period to attack.

If a civilian had watched this fight, they would have assumed the brothers were evenly matched and it was an interesting fight. However, anyone trained in the shinobi arts would have become bored quickly. They would have picked up on the fact that Itachi was holding back. Had he come at Sasuke with even half his strength this fight would have been over in a matter of seconds.

This wasn't about him kicking his little brother's ass. This was about training him for the tough road ahead. Itachi hadn't wanted his younger brother to take the Chuunin exam yet. In his honest opinion, Sasuke was far from ready. He was too cocky, lacked proper chakra control and impatient to the point he'd pass out from pushing beyond physical limits. Itachi didn't want to throw his younger brother to the lions, to put him in front a more seasoned shinobi so they could sharpen their claws on him.

But Kakashi had forced his hand. On the other hand, Itachi didn't have time to devote to training his younger brother. Since the Genin teams were off missions until after the first half of the Chuunin exams, Itachi was once again the sole breadwinner. Between missions and sleep, Itachi instructed his brother to come at him at full force. Wherever and whenever-which is why he worried about being attacked in the grocery store because Sasuke tended to take things literally.

The fight between the Uchiha brothers was fast-paced to the human eye, but when one could read the other's movements with just their eyes it was almost like a casual stroll to Itachi. He almost wished Sasuke would do something flashy or unexpected to break off the exchanges of physical attacks and weapon tossing.

Then, it happened. Itachi got his wish in a most unexpected way. It started as a small tug of resistance against the back of his right ankle. Too late, Itachi realized the pressure was a trap wire. He veered left, out of the way as a heavy and stout log came rocketing up from the limbs below him. Branches cracked and fell so if the log hadn't gotten him then he would have had to get out of the way of the falling limbs. This would give Sasuke an opening for attack, which the boy took advantage of anyway despite the fact he saw his brother dodge the trap.

'Did he...plan this ahead?' How did he know I would head to this particular forest path and have the time to plan a trap in advance?' Itachi wondered as he jumped down from the tree to fight on the ground.

It seemed almost too impossible to believe. Not that Sasuke wasn't shrewd. The boy had set up rather ingenious traps before, often to bedevil his blond-haired teammate according to Kakashi. None of this added up though. In order for Sasuke to create a 'sling-shot' trap it would take more time and calculation than a split second change in direction would allow for. Also Sasuke would have had to know the lay out of this patch of forest and they had never trained in this area before

Itachi always changed up his routine so nothing was ever predictable or traceable. He never arrived home at the same time, took the same worn pathways, never trained in the same location and never took Sasuke to the same places to spar.

'So how...' it dawned on Itachi quickly, his arm blocking a kick aimed to hit his head. Sasuke glared, but jumped back. He wasn't given a chance to recover because Itachi came at him, punches hit air pockets above, below, to right and left of their faces. Sasuke didn't like this change up. Itachi often went on the defensive when they fought because he was holding back with him.

Not this time though. 'Something's wrong.' Dark gray eyes widened as he realized Itachi was forcing him backwards towards the forest entrance - right into the final trap.

'Shit.' Quickly, Sasuke feinted and tried to run to Itachi's left in order to lead him deeper into the forest. Itachi didn't fall for it though. Instead of following he didn't even allow Sasuke to get very far, because his hand grabbed the twelve year old boy by the scruff of his shirt collar and tossed him forward. Sasuke skidded against the dirt, arms raised up to protect his eyes. Coughing from the dust in his mouth, Sasuke slowly sat up and had hands on the ground to push himself up. Itachi didn't allow him to stand, instead he launched a kunai to pin Sasuke's right shirt sleeve to the ground.

Instantly, Sasuke yanked it away. Before he could stand though Itachi was standing over him, a sandal down on his younger sibling's chest.

"Someone is helping you," Itachi accused while looking down at his brother. Sasuke uttered a 'tch', "No. Maybe you're just upset that I almost got you with that trap."

Itachi tilted his head, "Right. That's exactly it," was said in a very dry tone. Almost sarcastic even, which threw off Sasuke since he had never heard Itachi talk like that. "So, you booby trapped this whole patch of forest. Rather impressive, if you honestly did it all by yourself under the assumption that out of all the forests inside Konohagakure I would pick this place."

Itachi pulled out another kunai, "However, I really doubt you did it all by yourself. So tell me Sasuke," he paused to put the blade of the kunai to a nearly invisible trap wire netted around the tree to his right, "what will happen when I trip this wire?"

Sasuke visibly hesitated, but not wanting to be caught in his lie gave a shrug he hoped look casual and indifferent. "Why don't you trip the wire and find out?"

The kunai was held against the net-wire, inching closer and closer as if prepared to cut. Then, Itachi suddenly tossed it upward. Sasuke's eyes went wide as the flying weapon flushed out the true master mind behind the traps as she jumped from the hiding spot above the trap and to another tree. To most it was just a mild rustle of leaves, possibly the wind. To Itachi and Sasuke though they had seen the girl move.

Itachi lifted his foot off Sasuke then turned to 'talk to the tree'. "You can come out, Hinata," the elder Uchiha said. A pause, yet nothing emerged from the tree.

Sasuke sat up, "It's alright. We've been caught," the boy grumbled obviously not happy at having his master plan foiled. It started with the rustle of leaves followed by a slow emergence of pale eyes and the girl appeared in the flesh. To anyone but an Uchiha it was as if she had emerged from the tree itself and had done so flawlessly. However, the two below the tree spotted the flaws in her disguise easily, still Hinata had put up a valiant effort to fool them.

'Kurenai is teaching her genjutsu?' Itachi wondered. He had never heard of a Hyuuga using illusions to their advantage before. In fact, he had long thought they 'could not' use genjutsu. Then again, he thought; what else did Hinata have going for her? Her family's signature jutsu were sealed away from her, because the Hyuuga had exiled themselves to Grass country years ago. He knew Neji was trying to teach her the finer points of Byakugan. Due to how impatient and easily frustrated the boy became, Itachi gathered she wasn't learning much from Neji.

'So she has some genjutsu and apparently tracking skills and trap crafting in her training.' Itachi thought, mentally jotting down how the female Hyuuga was coping with her lack of physical prowess. It didn't seem like much and the elder Uchiha had doubts she would thrive in active combat. Yet, Kurenai choose her team to go on to the Chuunin exams anyway.

As heartless as it sounded, Itachi knew he had been neglectful in helping the girl as much as he helped Sasuke. Feeling she would only be an additional burden, Itachi left the girl's advancement in the hands of her sensei, her teammates, and now her cousin. It seemed to have worked so far, but Itachi was alarmed when he saw Sasuke help the girl down from the tree.

Hinata could clearly get herself down if she got there in the first place. Yet, Sasuke was wasting time needlessly helping her. He was leaving himself wide open to attack and their fight wasn't over. Red eyes narrowed, something had to be done about this.

–

"That was great."

Hinata blinked at first, unsure what she was hearing, and then her face molted from a pale shade to a deep red hue. "T-thank you" she muttered. It was rare when she was complimented. And even rarer for Sasuke to be the one complimenting her. Yet as flustered as his compliment made her, Hinata felt slightly uncomfortable as to how he held on a second too long.

Both teens wouldn't look at each other when they finally broke away, which left Itachi an opening. The Hyuuga gasped as the elder brother roughly pinned his sibling to a tree.

"Never," he tossed Sasuke aside, "leave yourself open to an enemy." After a rough landing Sasuke scrambled to stand, barely missing a kunai aimed to injury his kneecap. "What was that about...?"

"No talking," Itachi said in a strict yet low tone. He never raised his voice at them, rather Itachi added emphasis, elongated, or rested on certain words to make his displeasure known. Sasuke felt a chill go down his spine. Itachi wasn't going to hold back this time and he was actually afraid, though not of death. His brother would never seriously injure him. Instead, Sasuke was afraid he would be injured just enough to keep him from the Chuunin exam.

'It would be something Itachi would do, if he thought it was for my own good' Sasuke realized with dread. He didn't want to forfeit the exam. He'd never hear the end of it from Naruto. Naruto. He would look better in Hinata's eyes because he wasn't stupid enough to get injured by a sparring partner that he couldn't take part in the Chuunin exam.

No. Sasuke decided he wouldn't let himself be beaten. Not by Itachi or Naruto. With that in mind he took the kunai that nearly pierced his knee and took off running.

–

Hinata paused against a tree trunk, all but collapsing against it. She had been trying to follow the path the Uchiha brother's blazed in their three hour flight-and-fight. At first, the girl tried to watch from a distance with her Byakugan since the only way she could even see them was by the faint chakra map inside both Uchiha. Yet she could only keep the chakra flow going for so long and her eyes only endure so much strain. Now it was almost night fall and she was blindly following the echoes of grating metal against metal, curses and shouts from Sasuke.

Taking a deep breath Hinata could feel her body trembling. She was scared. Why she didn't know, but Hinata had a feeling Itachi was...angry at her. Or rather angry at Sasuke's treatment of her. What she didn't know was why. What had Sasuke done? What had she done? In the end Hinata had more questions than answer.

She finally came upon the two brothers. Sasuke was lying back on the ground so still and silent that Hinata wondered for a moment if Itachi had gone too far.

'No. No he wouldn't' Hinata thought with a shake of her head. Quickly she approached the two brothers in the clearing, kneeling next to Sasuke without a thought. "Sasuke-nii...are you alright?"

He opened his eyes, but didn't look at Hinata. Instead, he was looking up at Itachi. Hinata reached to help him up off the ground only to have her hand slapped away.

"I'm fine." Sasuke gritted out although he was still on the ground. "I don't need your help"

"O-okay," she whispered. Hinata knew it was stupid to feel hurt. Sasuke was very stubborn and didn't like it when she fussed over him- like he did to her. Still, it'd be a lie to say him pushing her away hadn't hurt.

He pushed himself up to stand and didn't even look Hinata's way. A tense silence fell over the clearing. Hinata for one felt hopelessly lost as to what to say. It was obvious that Sasuke lost the fight and he was in no mood to be consoled. And what about Itachi? She looked to him next, yet her gaze wasn't met. Itachi seemed busy picking up weapons, yet he was aware of her staring enough to make an offer.

"Since my dango ingredients have probably been carried off by some animal by now, why don't we have take out for dinner tonight?"

Hinata didn't need to be directly told that the dinner errand was hers. The tension between the brothers had to be sorted out. Without her around. Hinata felt a tinge of resentment. Wasn't she part of this family too?

Still, she wasn't one to confront or argue, so Hinata meekly bowed her head and walked away to leave the forest.

–

"_You'll have to pull away, Sasuke. Push her out of your life if you must."_

Itachi's words haunted him. Sasuke wanted to ask what was wrong with him caring for Hinata. Other than Itachi, she was the only other person he would call 'family'. The only rationale Sasuke was given to push Hinata away was that she would be a danger, a liability to him and herself if the girl didn't stand on her own two feet.

"_You can motivate yourself to be stronger by wanting to protect her, Sasuke. But, what happens to Hinata if she depends on you to save her and you are not there"_

"_That won't happen! I'll always protect her," Sasuke had responded, lunging to catch his brother with a kunai. Predictably, Itachi side stepped it and then grabbed Sasuke's ducked head to stop the force of his charge and trap him in a headlock._

"_Will you follow her to every mission then? Or better yet, would you sacrifice your teammates, your Hokage, your honor...all to protect her?"_

_Sasuke was about to boldly say that of course he would, but Itachi cut him to the quick with, "What if she doesn't feel the same about you? What if Hinata won't make those same sacrifices or rather she isn't able to. Would you still do all of that only to find her in the arms of another?"_

_He hesitated for a moment and that's all Itachi needed to strike Sasuke from behind and bring the boy to his knees._

_Eyes watering and the world spinning underneath him, Sasuke grunted as Itachi's hand roughly yanked his hair to pull him to look up._

"_This isn't a fairytale, Sasuke. You won't always be able to save the princess. Hinata has to grow and fight for her own. She can't if you're always doing needless things and encouraging her when in fact she made many, many mistakes.' Itachi pushed him down to the ground and Sasuke was too weak to fight it or even sit up._

_'You are going to have to let her go.'_

Sasuke was shaken out of his memories and brought around to the present as he heard the clatter of weapons being collected into a heap. His arms moved almost on auto-pilot since the boy was still unfocused as he put the kunai and shuriken back inside the weapon pouches.

Then, somehow, Itachi's warning of him pushing Hinata out of his life led Sasuke to a different train of though. Looking around, although he knew they were alone; Sasuke still asked in a low tone- not quite a whisper but wasn't the normal force of his voice either.

"How's your research going?"

Itachi paused in his own weapon-gathering. Slowly, he turned his head to face Sasuke. Unknown to Sasuke, the elder brother was fighting an internal-struggle as to how much he should tell. When he first started 'researching' who had killed their clan, Sasuke had been too young to be privy to the information.

Yet, Sasuke had grown up into a boy with sharp instincts and a bit too nosy for his own good. Once he raided Itachi's room to find journals, letters, anything that would prove he was looking into what happened to the Uchiha clan. At age ten, Sasuke confronted him in anger and near tears. Asking...no demanding if Itachi even cared about what happened since he didn't seem interested in finding out what happened to their parents. Their clan.

It was then Itachi revealed to his younger brother that he was looking around, investigating, and even borrowed a few of Kakashi's nin dogs- a debt the Scarecrow never failed to remind him of- in desperate hopes they'd find something in the abandoned district. Nothing. So far. That had been a complete lie.

The older man shook his head, "I haven't found much. In fact, I've been running into dead ends for a couple years now."

Sasuke stared at him for a moment. Itachi wondered if the boy was smart enough to pick apart the lies and create a true picture just yet. Probably not because it wasn't long before his brother looked away.

"If you need help looking..." the Genin's voice cut off when Itachi leaned over and poked him in the forehead.

"Thank you for the offer, Sasuke. I have it under control though. Besides," his hand lifted off Sasuke's forehead, who sulked a little but it wasn't quite the childish pout he once had. "I have access to more information and can move more freely because of my rank. If you start asking questions or start snooping around, you might wind up in trouble."

For now, that was as far as Itachi would admit to knowing the enemies of the Uchiha clan were living among them. One day he would tell Sasuke about what Konoha wanted him to do in the name of peace.

Just not today.

–

Realizing she had been sent to get dinner, but hadn't been given specifics; Hinata was torn between a few food stalls. She knew what Itachi and Sasuke both liked, but their tastes often collided with one another so it would be difficult finding something that would keep them both happy.

"Hinata-chan!"

The girl turned upon hearing someone call her name and nearly collided right into Naruto, who had ran up to greet her.

"N-Naruto-kun" she gasp having to take a deep breath to steady herself. Seemingly oblivious as to how flustered Hinata looked the boy grinned, "Glad I could catch up to you! Hey, does this mean you're free for dinner?"

Pale eyes blinked, "W-what?" she asked, mouth suddenly as dry as cotton. "Because...I kind of need a small favor" the blue eyed boy said, now looking a touch sheepish.

She offered up a weak smile. Hinata was a sucker for requests to help someone, plus it was Naruto. So of course she couldn't say no.

"Of course..." she fidgeted a little, "what do you need me to do?"

Naruto beamed, "Thought you'd never ask! Hinata-chan, do you want to have dinner with me?"

'Dinner?' She blinked once. 'Have dinner? With Naruto-kun?' Her blush increased, yet for all the heat centered on her cheeks Hinata's hands started to grow cold and clammy.

'Dinner... with Naruto-kun. As in a...d-d-d-date?'

Hinata blinked a second time but remained unresponsive to Naruto's question. Squinting, the boy waved a hand in front of the girl's face. "Hinata-chan?"

She didn't even blink this time; white eyes just stared at him blankly. Naruto shuddered. 'Kind of creepy.' Still he had to figure out a way to get her to respond so he gave her a very light nudge. That nudge turned into a tilt, which led to a fall as gravity took over.

"Wah! Hinata-chan? Are you okay? Speak to me!" Naruto squawked

–

"I don't think I ordered a side of stupid with my dinner." Sasuke frowned while looking across the table to Naruto.

"Shut up bastard!" Naruto groused in response. "Hinata-chan invited me over to have delicious ramen."

Sasuke's gray eyes cut over to the girl twiddling her fingers. Hinata felt the pointed stare aimed at her and ducked her head before muttering, "T-that's not exactly how it happened."

"What's with that bruise on your cheek?" was Sasuke's next question. Hinata tensed up when Naruto moved to speak. "Well you see Hinata-chan fell down and...mmph" the boy stared bug-eyed as Hinata had skimmed a fish cake off his ramen broth with chopsticks and stuck them in Naruto's mouth to shut him up.

The last thing Hinata wanted was for her brothers to know she fainted in the middle of the street. They already left her out of their training sessions and pretty much left her with the housework. If word got around she was having some 'freaky fainting spells', she would never hear the end of it. Although Naruto had been kept from blabbing, another problem arose as Sasuke pushed away from the table.

"I'm going to my room."

"Ah, but your dinner will get cold..." Hinata said, trying to convince Sasuke to come back to the table. "I don't want that crap" was Sasuke's reply. Naruto scowled, "Ramen isn't crap! Well...maybe the instant stuff compared to fresh, but Ichiraku Ramen is not crap!"

"Whatever, you can have mine then." Sasuke said being strangely generous for once before escaping to his room. "Sweet!" Naruto cheered as he abandoned his now empty bowl and moved on to Sasuke's portion.

To say Hinata was worried was an understatement. Maybe, she thought, this was pushing too hard for Sasuke and Naruto to become friends.

–

Dark eyes peered through thick leaves as the masked ANBU silently observed the genin students lining up to receive their scrolls. While Hinata and Sasuke had been tirelessly waiting for this day to arrive, Itachi almost wish it hadn't. There were too many gaps in security, mostly because Itachi was worried about internal faction than he was with the visiting shinobi. He had a sinking suspicion that if something happened to Sasuke, it would be the fault of Konohagakure.

It was this all consuming paranoia that drove him to sign up as one of the squad leaders watching over the Chunnin exam. If Sasuke was to be lured away from his team or attacked, it would be here since ANBU were experts in making quick, efficient, and untraceable kills. And the only person who could track an ANBU operative would be one of their own.

Standing on a stout limb, Itachi watched as Naruto held up his team's scroll and was about to brag about the symbol until the pink-haired girl conked him on the head and berated the boy for almost blabbing. Sasuke stood slightly apart from them, looking at something over his shoulder. Itachi didn't have to look or even guess who it was.

Hinata and her teammates had passed, so of course that was Sasuke's focus. 'That girl...' Itachi withheld a sigh, 'is going to get him into a lot of trouble one of these days.' It seemed that anything Itachi did or said to drive those two apart only spurred Sasuke to get closer. The elder brother sincerely hoped this was just Sasuke being a teenager rebelling against him, the parental figure.

"Alright, listen up! On the count of three we'll call out the gates. When the gates open you run. Don't walk. Crawl. Or cry for your mommy. Run as if your life depended on it, because it just might. Oh and don't get yourselves killed, because it's hard enough to deliver a scroll to your Kage without being worm-food on top of that."

Itachi stood back silently and patiently waiting for gate numbers to be called. He was ready when Sasuke's team shot out of their gate. Quickly, Itachi was right behind them. He knew it was at a great risk to himself and his standing with Konohagakure, but Itachi was determined to protect his younger sibling from assassins.

–

"Phew I peed a lot back there" Naruto bragged. Sasuke was half-tempted to hold Sakura's fist from hitting him, but in the end decided the idiot deserved it for announcing his bathroom habits. However, something seemed off about the blond.

"Wait."

Sakura pulled her fist back and held it; Naruto already had a black eye forming. "Huh?" Sasuke pulled out a kunai and pointed it at the boy. "What's the password?" Sakura giggled, knowing that Naruto wouldn't know it...or at least that's what she originally though.

Needless to say, the pink haired girl was shocked to hear Naruto recite their code flawlessly. "Wow, so you did remember...hey! Sasuke!" the girl yelled as she witnessed Sasuke fly at their teammate.

"What are you doing?" she demanded. "This isn't Naruto" Sasuke announced, "he's too dim to remember that whole phrase." Dark eyes glared into blue ones, "That's why I choose such a complicated password. Since you got it right, you're not Naruto." The tip of the kunai tucked underneath the blond's chin, "Now, show us who you really are"

'Naruto' gave a low chuckle at first. Then it steadily grew louder and shriller. Sasuke jerked away as the other boy's skin started cracking and peeling away.

"You're a smart boy, Sasuke" the intruder into Team 7 said with a smirk that was a mix of his form and that of Naruto's lips. Once all the skin had fallen away, a tall young man emerged wearing a Kusagakure headband on his forehead.

Sakura trembled before asking, "Who are you? What have you done with Naruto?"

The man grinned, "Oh don't worry about your teammate. I'm sure he's quite at home in the belly of my pet."

At that boast, Sakura became weak in the knees, her face draining of color. "You mean he's..."

"Sakura, run away." Green eyes blinked, "W-what?" she asked, a little confused. Sasuke turned his head to glare at her, "Run and take my pack." Then it clicked with her, she had to take the scroll and escape. That would have been the practical thing to do. She should...she had to, but at the same time Sakura couldn't stand leaving Sasuke behind.

"No, we're sticking together!" she exclaimed, holding on tightly to Sasuke's pack but not budging.

"Do you want to die too?" he asked. When Sakura floundered for a response, Sasuke made the mistake of bodily turning away from his opponent and to his hesitant teammate.

"Go! I can handle him..."

"Sasuke-kun look out!" Sakura shrieked. The boy turned his head to look behind him. He only saw it for a second, the man behind them had somehow elongated his neck to the point he could reach out and bite Sasuke. Yet the teeth never sank into his flesh because the snake-man's jaw was pried open and stuck with a kunai.

No one was more surprised than the 'snake-man'. His mouth was bleeding profusely, yet he reached with a trembling hand and extracted the shinobi knife from his own mouth.

"Who the hell threw that?" he asked, then his nostrils flared. His bemused and pissed off expression soon melted into a smug look.

"Of course" he muttered, leaving Sasuke and Sakura in mute horror as his body lengthened and contorted to wrap around a tree.

A man wearing an ANBU mask darted out, inserted himself between Sasuke and the snake-man just before he struck again.

Teeth grated against metal, but the man reached a hand around and knocked the mask away.

It fell to the forest floor with a light 'thud'. Itachi didn't even bother to retrieve it to conceal his identity. He wouldn't leave from defending his brother. And that's what Orochimaru wanted to see. "I should have known" the man chuckle, blood flecks flying from his injured mouth, yet it didn't seem to hinder his speech any.

The man's long neck reached out, head swaying in front of Itachi, "Those eyes. Different than the ones before." A dark chuckle erupted from the 'serpent'. Yellow slitted pupils looked into Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan.

"I wonder who you had to kill to get those eyes."

–

Notes: I know someone is going to chew me out for a few things, so let's start with some of the 'highlights'. For starters, yes, I know I skipped a HUGE portion of the Chuunin Exam, but really did you want a rehash of the whole thing? No? I didn't think so either. Secondly, Hinata does not have a very big role in this but that will change by next chapter. Third, look for a side chapter to fill in some gaps. Thanks for waiting so patiently for an update and for reading this fic.


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